Former Union Minister and seven-time MP Virendra Kumar on Monday took oath as the Pro tem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.
President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to Virendra Kumar at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In the first term of the Modi government, Mr Virendra Kumar was Minister of State for Women and Child Development and MoS in the Minority Affairs Ministry. He has been seven-time MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.
He was a member of the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabha.
A three-member panel comprising Kodukunnil Suresh (Congress), Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (BJP) and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) will assist Kumar in the discharge of his duties as pro-tem Speaker.
The Pro tem Speaker is a temporary arrangement till the regular Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha. Virendra Kumar will administer the oath to the new members of the Lok Sabha on Monday and Tuesday before the new Speaker is elected on Wednesday.