Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist Rajani Patil takes oath as Rajya Sabha member

JD-U general secretary K C Tyagi and Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist Rajani Patil today took oath as members in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the Budget Session of Parliament.

Tyagi, who represents Bihar, fills the vacancy caused due to resignation of Upendra Kushwaha on January 4 following differences with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Earlier, Kushwaha was suspended from JD-U for anti-party activities and was facing disqualification threat. Patil was elected in a bye-election in Maharashtra necessitated by the death of former Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Patil had left Congress in the mid-90s when P V Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri were at the helm, alleging the leadership was targeting people close to the Gandhi family.

She joined the BJP and contested to win the Beed Lok Sabha seat in 1996. Before the 1998 general elections she quit BJP to return to the Congress after Sonia Gandhi took over as its president. Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari also informed the House that he has accepted the resignation of lone Rajya Sabha member from Meghalaya Thomas Sangma (NCP), who quit the Upper House to contest Assembly election from North Tura. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde informed the House about the imposition of President's rule in Jharkhand and laid a copy of the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution in this regard on the table of the House.

A copy of President's Address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was laid in the House. Ansari later adjourned the House after making obituary references to seven former members - Sushila Shankar Adivarekar, Charanjit Chanana, Krishnand Joshi, Nand Kishore Bhatt, Nripati Ranjan Choudhury, Narain Prasad Gupta and Radhakishan Malaviya. He also condoled the death of 38 pilgrims at Allahabad on February 10.

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