New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday sworn in seven-term member of Parliament Virendra Kumar as the protem speaker of Lok Sabha.

Kumar will oversee the oath-taking of newly elected LS members on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, as soon as a new speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha is elected, his role will cease to exist.

Kumar, 65, won the Lok Sabha election from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh on a BJP ticket. He was a minister of state in the previous Modi government.

As pro-tem speaker, Kumar will preside over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and administer the oath to the newly elected MPs. He will also oversee the election of the Lok Sabha speaker.

The first session of the newly constituted Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Berhampur (Odisha) (PTI): Two girls drowned while bathing in a village pond in Odisha's Ganjam district on Tuesday, police said.

The deceased were identified as Pranjali Dora (11), a class 6 student, and Manini Dora (12), a student of class 7, both residents of Patanda village in Digapahandi police station area, a police officer said.

After returning home from school, they went to the village pond to take a bath like every other day. However, they slipped and fell into deep waters. Locals noticed them drowning and tried to rescue them but failed, he said.

Fire brigade personnel from Digapahandi retrieved the girls after a two-hour search and they were rushed to a nearby community health centre, where doctors declared them dead, Digapahandi police station officer-in-charge Kishor Kumar Samal said.

He said the bodies have been handed over to the respective families after conducting post-mortem examinations at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here.

He said unnatural death cases have been registered and an investigation launched.