Smriti receives longest applause while taking oath as LS
New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, received the longest applause when she took oath as member of the 17th Lok Sabha on Monday.
As soon as she was called for oath taking, ruling BJP members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, other union ministers and MPs were seen enthusiastically thumping the desk for a long time.
After taking oath in Hindi, Irani greeted pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar and also oposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who reciprocated the greetings with a namaste gesture.
Rahul Gandhi was not present in the House at that time.
The Union Textile Minister defeated Gandhi by a margin of over 55,000 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi constitutency, considered as the pocket borough of Gandhi family for long.
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Odisha: Two girls drown while bathing in village pond
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.
