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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Shivamogga: A leopard was killed after being hit by a motorcycle near Mandagadde in Thirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district.

According to reports, the biker was travelling from Shivamogga towards Thirthahalli when the leopard suddenly came onto the road from a nearby forest area near Mandagadde. The rider is said to have lost control of the bike and crashed into the animal.

The leopard suffered severe injuries in the impact and died on the spot. The biker also fell onto the road along with the motorcycle and sustained serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in Shivamogga for further treatment.

After receiving information about the incident, forest department officials, including Gajanur RFO Vinay Kumar, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.