New Delhi: It was history in the making as Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi took oath of office for the third consecutive time. Modi thus equals the record of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister.
Despite widespread speculation, the BJP asserted its influence by keeping 25 of the 30 Cabinet berths, while each of its allies received one. Dressed in a white kurta pyjama and a blue jacket, Modi was greeted with cheers and thunderous applause as he reached the venue, Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the ministers-designate were waiting.
The BJP heavyweights who made a comeback in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet included Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dharmendra Pradhan and Hardeep Singh Puri, among others.
Prime Minister Modi is likely to chair his first Cabinet meeting on Monday. Soon after taking the oath on Sunday evening, Modi posted on a social media platform: “Took oath as Prime Minister at the ceremony earlier this evening. I look forward to serving 140 crore Indians and working with the Council of Ministers to take India to new heights of progress.”
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was kept away from the post of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister despite leading the party to a resounding victory in the Assembly polls, joined the Modi Cabinet, making his debut at the Centre. BJP president J.P. Nadda, who was in charge of the health ministry in Mr Modi’s 2014 Cabinet, returned as a Cabinet minister. Nadda’s return to the Modi government is all set to trigger a race for the next president of the BJP in the party.
Among the new faces from the BJP in Modi’s team are C.R. Patil, Malayalam actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Kiritivardhan Singh and Telangana’s Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
Among ministers from the allies who were sworn in are LJP’s Chirag Paswan, HAM leader Jiten Ram Majhi, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, JD(U)’s, Rajeev Ranjan Singh (Lallan Singh) and Ramnath Thakur and the TD’s Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, AJSU’s Chandrashekhar Choudhary.
Altogether 30 Cabinet ministers and 41 ministers of state (including five MoS with independent charge) took the oath on Sunday evening.
Union ministers who faced the axe included was I&B minister Anurag Thakur; Smriti Irani, Sanjeev Balyan, Arjun Munda, Narayan Rane and Rajeev Chandrasekhar who lost the polls were dropped.
All eyes will be on the portfolios, which are expected to be allotted late on Sunday night or early on Monday. Rajnath Singh is likely to retain defence, Amit Shah home. Nirmala Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar are likely to continue at finance and external affairs respectively. Sources said Gadkari could continue to be in charge of road transport and highways. It remains to be seen who gets the crucial information and broadcasting and human resources development ministries.
While almost none of the I.N.D.I.A. leaders could be spotted at the grand swearing-in ceremony, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was present.
The sprawling lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan were packed to capacity. Seven heads of state or government from Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan attended the mega oath-taking ceremony. Films stars and top corporate honchos were among the invitees. Among the guests was Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, who played a key role during the hearing of the Ram Mandir case in the Supreme Court.
Earlier on Sunday morning, Modi visited Rajghat to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation. He then visited late BJP patriarch Atal Behari Vajpayee’s memorial “Sadaiv Atal”. Modi also offered his respects at the National War Memorial, a monument to soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
Modi later invited the ministers-designate to his official residence for tea. During the informal session, Modi, while addressing leaders spoke of humility. For him, people love those who are humble and do not compromise on probity and transparency. Modi also asked the ministers-designate to be courteous and also respect government employees and officers. Modi was insistent that the council of ministers should work as a team.
