Indian Origin Dr Gaurav Sharma elected as New Zealand MP takes oath in Sanskrit

Hamirpur: Paying homage to all Indian languages, an Indian-origin doctor, elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament took the oath in Sanskrit, thereby, becoming the first lawmaker in the country to do so.

One of the youngest elected members, Dr Gaurav Sharma, hails from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur. He has been elected as an MP from the Labour Party for Hamilton West, New Zealand. He decided to take the oath in two languages- one of which was Sanskrit. He took the oath in the local language te reo and then in Sanskrit during the swearing-in ceremony. He has now become a part of the ruling government led by Jacinda Arden.

Lauding Dr Sharma, the High Commission to New Zealand Muktesh Pardeshi tweeted, "Dr Gaurav Sharma, one of the youngest, newly elected MP in NZ parliament took oath today, first in NZ's indigenous Maori language, followed by India's classical language- Sanskrit, showing deep respect for cultural traditions both India and New Zealand."

"I am in politics for social service, as my family had gone through a lot of hardships. What really helped us was social security, which New Zealand did really well — not so much now, though," the Indian-origin MP was quoted as saying by The Tribune.