New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw were among the 14 who took oath as members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Vice-president and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath to them in the new Parliament House building.

While Sonia Gandhi took oath as a member of the Upper House from Rajasthan, Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member of the same house from Odisha. Congress leader Ajay Maken from Karnataka, Bhartiya Janata Party leader R P N Singh from Uttar Pradesh, and BJP member Samik Bhattacharya from West Bengal were among the 14 who took the Rajya Sabha oath.

YSRCP leaders Gola Babu Rao, Medha Raghunath Reddy, and Yerum Venkat Subba Reddy also took oath as members representing the state of Andhra Pradesh. They all later took a group photograph with the RS Chairman.

"CPP Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji takes oath as Rajya Sabha MP today. As a Rajya Sabha member, she will continue to defend democratic values as well as ensure justice for all sections of society. Congratulations and best wishes!" Congress posted on X.

Sonia Gandhi has become a Rajya Sabha member for the first time. She took oath in the presence of Leader of the House Piyush Goyal and Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present during her oath-taking. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and secretary general P C Mody were also present.