First Lok Sabha of independent India set up under Nehru
More than 400 MPs were sworn in, marking the beginning of the country’s political journey
“There is no resting place for a nation or a people on their onward march. You, newly elected by over 170 million of our people, are the pilgrims who have to march forward in their company. On you rests a unique privilege and a heavy responsibility.”
This was the welcome President Rajendra Prasad accorded the first Lok Sabha of independent India on May 16, 1952, days after the first council of ministers, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister, was sworn in.
On May 13, 1952, the first session began with a two-minute silent prayer, after which 451 of the 499 members affirmed their allegiance to the Constitution.
GV Mavalankar was appointed Speaker of the House.
The first to take the oath, administered by Chief Justice of India Patanjali Shastri, was PM Nehru, who received loud cheers as he walked up to the Secretary’s table, followed by deputy speaker Ananthasayenam Ayyanagr.
The members from Hindi-speaking areas read the oath in Hindi while others with some notable exceptions preferred the English version. Maulana Azad took to the Urdu text while two members read it in Telugu, two in Malayalam and one in Oriya. Two members who could not read were assisted by the Parliament Secretary. Some members such as RA Kidwai had conscientious objection to swearing by God and stopped in the middle of the oath to change over to the alternative text.
White dominated the scene, with only two red caps of the Socialists and one saffron cap of a Hindu Sabhaite providing diversion. The Communists appeared rather lost in a wing of the main Opposition benches.
Later, the new council consisting of 15 Cabinet ministers, four ministers with Cabinet rank, and two deputy ministers were sworn in.
On the Cabinet, six names stuck out: Lal Bahadur Shastri, TT Krishnamachari, VV Giri, Sardar Swaran Singh, KC Reddy and RA Kidwai.
This was the second cabinet to be chaired by Nehru, the first having been formed on August 15, 1947. But the first Constitutional Assembly transformed into the Provisional Parliament until the first general elections were held, and a new Parliament was constituted in 1952.
So far as the strength of the Cabinet was concerned, there were no changes. There were already three vacancies to be filled in the places of Kidwai, Sri Prakasa and Dr BR Ambedkar who had resigned.
There were also no big changes in the list of state ministers and deputy ministers.
A press communique issued soon after the first session introduced a classification between Cabinet ministers and state ministers with the only distinction between the two being that while Cabinet ministers were entitled to attend and vote at all Cabinet meetings, state ministers were not to be treated as members of the Cabinet though they may attend Cabinet meetings when their subjects were to be discussed