Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman KP Radhakrishnan greets Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge after taking oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday, June 29, 2026 | Photo credit: Special Arrangement
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and seven other newly elected members of the Rajya Sabha took oath on Monday (June 29, 2026). Mr. Kharge was also reappointed as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha with effect from June 26.
After taking the oath, Mr. Kharge expressed his gratitude to the Congress leadership, including Parliamentary Party Chairman Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, as well as Vice President KP Radhakrishnan and Deputy Chairman Harivansh. He also conveyed greetings to his colleagues in the INDIA bloc and the wider opposition.
Mr Kharge said he hoped for “even closer coordination” during the upcoming parliamentary session to make “the current government more accountable”.
“We will continue to raise the pressing issues, aspirations and voices of the people with sincerity, conviction and determination. This remains our primary responsibility and I will fulfill it to the best of my ability,” Mr Kharge said.
He took the oath separately in the chamber of Chairman Mr. Radhakrishnan. Mr Radhakrishnan congratulated Mr Kharge and said the Upper House would benefit from his years of experience. Mrs. Gandhi and other Congress leaders – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.S. Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh and Syed Nasir Hussain were present when Mr. Kharge took the oath of office. Mr. Kharge’s wife, daughter and granddaughter, as well as her husband, were also present.
Later, Mr. Radhakrishnan administered oath to seven other newly elected members of the Rajya Sabha House – Mansingh Meraman Parmar, Tarun Chugh, Alka Singh, Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzaria, Rajendra Hiralal Jain, M. Nagaraja and Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi.
Four members took oath in Hindi, one in Kannada, one in Punjabi and one in Manipuri. Two members from Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Rajasthan sent one member each to the Upper House.
Published – June 29, 2026 2:45 pm EST.