New Delhi, April 6 -- Nineteen newly elected and re-elected members of the Rajya Sabha took oath in Parliament on Monday, marking an important moment for the Upper House.

Among those sworn in are five members from Maharasthra, including Ramdas Bandu Athawale, Maya Chintaman Ivnate, Sharadchandra Pawar, Ramrao Sakharam Wadkute and Jyoti Nagnath Waghmare.

Christopher Manickam, Anbumani Ramadoss, Constandine Ravindran, L K Sudhish, M Thambidurai and Tiruchi Siva are from Tamil Nadu. Five members from West Bengal include Babul Supriyo, Menaka Guruswamy, Rajeev Kumar, Rukmini Mallik and Biswajit Sinha, while three members Santrupt Mishra, Dilip Kumar Ray and Manmohan Samal are from Odisha.

Speaking after taking the oath, Santrupt Misra the ...