On the opening day of the 18th Lok Sabha session, 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the oath.

Modi highlighted the public's desire for a responsible opposition, vowing that his government would aim to include everyone and foster consensus.

The remaining 281 new MPs will take their oaths on Tuesday, with the election for the Speaker's post scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the opposition staged a protest march inside the Parliament complex during which MPs from the INDIA bloc raised slogans about “saving democracy” and displayed copies of the Constitution. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Samajwadi leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav were part of the protest.

The Lok Sabha showcased linguistic diversity on Monday, as the newly-elected MPs took their oaths in English and various Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, and Odia.

The elections for the appointment of the new Lok Sabha Speaker will take place on June 26

President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both houses on June 27, after which the two houses will discuss and pass the motion of thanks on her address. PM Modi will reply to the discussion in both houses next week.

Prime Minister Modi, during his pre-Parliament speech, criticised the Congress over the ‘Emergency period,’ referring to it as a “black spot” on democracy when the Constitution was “discarded”.

On June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a Congress leader, declared Emergency in India, which led to the suspension of civil liberties, imprisonment of opposition leaders and dissidents, and enforcement of press censorship. The anniversary of the 1975-77 Emergency falls on Tuesday.