On the first day of the Monsoon Session on Thursday, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm after paying tributes to two sitting members and 11 former MPs, including ex-chief minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal.
Immediately after the House met, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid tributes to sitting MPs Rattan Lal Kataria and Balubhau alias Suresh Narayan Dhanorkar.
He also said that 11 former members passed away in the last few months and read out their names.
Those who died include Badal, who was a member of the Sixth Lok Sabha, Ranjit Singh, Sujan Singh Bundela, Sandipan Thorat, Viswanadham Kanithi, Atiq Ahmad, Trilochan Kanungo, Ilyas Azmi, Anadi Charan Das, Nihal Singh and Raj Karan Singh.
Birla also paid tributes to all past members and adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were among those who were present in the House.
Earlier, Sushil Kumar Rinku, who was elected to Lok Sabha from the Jalandhar constituency in Punjab, took oath. He is now the only member of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Lower House of Parliament.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for almost an hour on Thursday as a mark of respect to sitting MP and senior BJP leader Hardwar Dubey who passed away last month.
When the House met on the opening day of the monsoon session, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar mentioned of the death of Dubey, who was elected to the Upper House in November 2020.
The 74-year-old died on June 26.”He was barely halfway through his term,” Dhankar said, adding that he shared a personal bond with Dubey.
He described Dubey as a passionate conservationist and said his deep commitment towards the protection of wildlife and natural heritage was always reflected in his participation in the House.
“In the passing away of Hardwar Dubey, the country has lost an able administrator, dedicated environmentalist and a committed parliamentarian,” he said.
The House also mourned the death of former members Dawa Lama, Usha Malhotra, and Solipeta Ramachandra Reddy.
MPs stood in silence as a mark of respect before Dhankhar announced that the proceedings are being adjourned till 12 noon as a mark of respect to the memory of a sitting MP.
