By Pragya Kaushika
New Delhi [India], Mar 19 : "It's wonderful" is how former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi who took oath as a Rajya Sabha member on Thursday described his feeling on being nominated to the upper house to his new neighbour - Sonal Mansingh.
Distinguished personality and classical dancer, Mansingh said that despite Congress' protests and sloganeering, Gogoi was calm and smiling as he greeted her, his new neighbour, while taking one of the seats earmarked for the nominated members of the House. However, a specific seat number is yet to be allocated to him.
"First thing he said to me was that he is in illustrious company," said Mansingh with a smile who also asked him about Assam, where he was before he landed in Delhi yesterday, and his feeling upon becoming a Rajya Sabha member.
However, not everything was wonderful for the former CJI as the opposition including Congress staged a walkout, shouting slogans and protesting against Gogoi's nomination.
Gogoi silently watched and took oath as a member of the house. After signing the register, he walked back to his seat with folded hands as BJP MPs greeted him with loud thumping on their desks.
The former CJI spent little over two hours in Parliament as he got his temporary ID number 142 and a seat allocated to him. He went to secretary general's office to complete the formalities before exiting the house. His family too accomped him for the oath ceremony.
Surrounded by the media, Gogoi did mention that his new stint is "interesting". When asked about Congress staging a walkout in protest against his nomination, Gogoi said, they will welcome me very soon.
When asked about his former colleagues who have turned into critics, Gogoi refused to acknowledge any critic. "There are no critics," he responded with a calm demeanour while mentioning that life keeps changing.
( With inputs from ANI )