Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday expressed his gratitude to the citizens of the country for giving a decisive mandate in the Lok Sabha polls. He said his government will make all efforts to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people.

“I express my gratitude to the citizens of the country for giving a decisive mandate to the people’s representatives” Modi said, addressing media ahead of the first session of the 16th Lok Sabha.

He said: “I assure the citizens of the country that our government will fullfil all the hopes and aspirations of the people in the temple of democracy.”

The first sitting of the newly elected 16th Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day Wednesday following the death of union minister Gopinath Munde.

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath Wednesday took oath as the pro tem speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

He was sworn-in by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Kamal Nath, who was the parliamentary affairs minister in the previous UPA government, was elected to the Lok Sabha for the ninth term from the Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

The pro tem speaker performs the duties of the office of the speaker from the commencement of the sitting of the Lok Sabha till the election of the speaker.

Pro tem speaker Kamal Nath adjourned the house till 11 a.m. June 5, a few minutes after it commenced the sitting.

“The house is being adjourned till 11 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) because of the sad demise of our colleague Gopinath Munde,” Nath said.

The house observed a two-minute silence in the memory of Munde, who died Tuesday following a car accident in the capital.

Kamal Nath was earlier sworn-in as the pro tem speaker by President Pranab Mukherjee.