First oath of office ceremony of Narendra Modi
 Narendra Modi takes the oath of office as the Prime Minister of India, with President Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath. | |
| Date | May 26, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 28°36′51″N 77°11′56″E / 28.6143°N 77.199°E |
| Participants | Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi Council of Ministers Assuming office President of India, Pranab MukherjeeAdministering oath |
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I, <name>, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister for the Union and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
Constitution of India, Third Schedule, Part I
I, <name>, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as prime minister for the Union except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister.
Constitution of India, Third Schedule, Part II
Narendra Modi, parliamentary leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, started the first tenure of his prime ministership, after his oath of office as the 14th Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014.[1] 45 other ministers were also sworn in along with Modi.[2] The ceremony was noted by media for being the first ever oath of office of an Indian Prime Minister to have been attended by the heads of all SAARC countries.
Background
Post the declaration of election results on 16 May 2014, Modi met the President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 20 May where Mukherjee invited Modi to form the next government. The BJP had won 282 seats and their alliance National Democratic Alliance won a total of 336 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha,[3] the strongest mandate since the 1984 elections where Indian National Congress had won.[4] The BJP then announced that Modi would be sworn in on 26 May 2014 at 6 p.m. Modi's actual oath was made at 6:13 p.m. IST.[1]
Ceremony
The oath of office ceremony was held at the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi which has been used as the venue of oath of office by only two previous Prime Ministers, Chandra Shekhar (1990, Samajwadi Janata Party) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996 and 1998, BJP).[5] The Durbar Hall was another possible venue but was rejected for its small sitting capacity of 500. BJP indicated that the ceremony would be held in open ground. Before, Modi has taken his oath as Chief Minister of Gujarat in open stadiums.[6] Extra trains were scheduled from Varanasi and Gujarat on the previous day for viewers to reach Delhi.[6] The special “K9” squad of trained dogs belonging to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was employed to secure the areas of the venue. The squad has previously been used at the time of 2010 Commonwealth Games and other Naxal-affected regions.[7] India's national broadcaster Doordarshan had various innovative ways planned. The ceremony's broadcast had an anchor in inset narrating the event in sign-language. This had previously been used in the Republic Day parade broadcast, but was the first time for an oath of office. In another first, the 15 regional television channels of Doordarshan aired the ceremony in the respective regional languages. The event was also the first of its kind to ever be streamed live on YouTube.[8] The ceremony cost the President's Estate ₹34 lakh.[9]
Invitees
The guest-list includes various heads of the states, political parties and groups along with leaders of SAARC countries. The event is hence viewed as a "major diplomatic event".[10]
International dignitaries
All SAARC heads of government attended. The ceremony was the first oath of office of an Indian Prime Minister where all SAARC heads were invited.[11] After the ceremony, Modi described this new government's first major initiative in foreign policy as the "right decision at the right time".[12]
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai accepted the invitation to attend the ceremony.[13] He is bound to leave the office post the ongoing presidential elections. But his acceptance was seen as Afghanistan's interest in working with India in future. Media also noted that his either successors Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani are pro-India.[14]
Bangladesh - Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the speaker of Jatiyo Sangshad, (the House of the Nation) accepted the invitation on behalf of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as Hasina had a pre-planned visit to Japan.[15]
Bhutan - Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay attended the ceremony and planned to have a discussion on bilateral relations of the two countries on 27 May.[16]
Maldives - Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom attended the ceremony.[17]
Mauritius - Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam attended the ceremony.[18]
Nepal - Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala accepted the invitation.[19]
Pakistan - Indian politicians reacted strongly after Nawaz Sharif accepted the invitation to the oath of office ceremony on May 24.[20] National Conference's (NC) Omar Abdullah was glad that the Pakistan PM had accepted the invitation to Modi's oath of office. He said that this would mark a new beginning in Indo-Pakistani ties.[21] Key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Shiv Sena, which has been vocal against Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in India, came out opposing the invitation to the Pakistan Prime Minister.[22] Pakistani journalists and politicians however had mixed views on Sharif accepting the invitation.[23]
Sri Lanka - President Mahinda Rajapaksa's invitation and attendance to the ceremony came under heavy criticism amongst Tamil Nadu politicians.[24] The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and NDA ally Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leaders had spoken against the Modi government's decision to invite the Sri Lankan president.[25] MDMK chief Vaiko met Modi to try to change his mind about the invitation while the Congress leaders were one with the MDMK and the AIADMK opposing the invitation.[26] Amid strong opposition from all quarters, CPI(M) on Sunday said the centre should utilise this occasion for resolving the Lankan Tamils issue.[27] A Tamil students group called Delhi Tamil Youth Forum staged a protest in the streets of Delhi on Sunday to register their anger.[28] Due to Modi's goodwill and peaceful approach, Indian fishermen were released by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan released 151 fishermen on 25 May from the Malir jail in Karachi and Nara jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province. Modi welcomed this move of both the nations.[29]
The prime minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, Lobsang Sangay, attended the ceremony. The Chinese government opposed the invitation to the Tibetan leader.[30]
National dignitaries
Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Presidents A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among those who participated.[31] Chief Ministers of all states in India were invited to attend the event. Among them, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah (INC) and Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy (INC) could not attend the ceremony due to their prior engagements though they gave their best wishes.[32] The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa (AIADMK), whose party had won the third highest number of seats in the election also declined to attend the event, while the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Bannerjee (AITC), decided to send Mukul Roy and Amit Mitra to attend.[33] Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the BJP and his entire cabinet had hired an aircraft to attend the ceremony and return to Bhopal the same night.[34]
Celebrities who were invited to the event included Salman Khan, Dharmendra, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar, Suresh Gopi, Vivek Oberoi, Lata Mangeshkar, Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan.[35]
Kiran Mahida, a tea vendor from Vadodara who had proposed Modi's candidacy, was also invited to attend the ceremony.[36]
Ravi Raushan want to make it a special day for the people."[37] Diwali like celebrations were done in Shimla to mark the "end of ten years of Congress rule".[38] Similar celebrations have been planned in Gujarat, the home state of Modi. The Southern Gujarat Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHRA) announced a list of 48 restaurants and fast food joints across Surat that will serve free tea to people between 6- 9pm IST.[39] Vadodara, Modi's constituency called it a "Vadodara Pride Day". Along with similar celebrations, educational stationary was also distributed in Vadodara to the school children.[40] Religious worships were planned in the temples, mosques and gurudwaras of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.[41] 5,000 laddus were ordered to be distributed by the Mysore Zilla Ganigara Sangha community in Mysore, Karnataka.[42]
Celebrations were also carried out in the Times Square of New York City and other cities of United States of America by organizing "election watch parties".[43] An Indian restaurant in New Jersey also promised free methi pakodas if Modi won the elections.[44] Similar festivities were also seen amongst the Indians settled in Australia and Canada.[45]
References
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- ^ Mathew, Liz (16 May 2014). "Narendra Modi makes election history as BJP gets majority on its own". Live Mint. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Narendra Modi sees BJP winning strongest mandate since 1984". Live Mint. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Abantika Ghosh, Anubhuti Vishnoi (20 May 2014). "Rashtrapati Bhawan forecourt prepares for spectacular swearing-in". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Rashtrapati Bhavan, Race Course Road gets set for Narendra Modi era". DNA. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Special canine squad chips in to secure Modi's swearing-in venue". Zee News. New Delhi. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
- Rao, Raghavendra (24 May 2014). "Once bitten, Doordarshan plans many firsts in coverage". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ "PM Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony cost the President's Estate Rs 34 lakh". Economic Times. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ "From potol dorma to Jaya no-show: The definitive guide to Modi's swearing in". Firstpost. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- Uppuluri, Krishna (25 May 2014). "Narendra Modi's swearing in offers a new lease of life to SAARC". DNA. New Delhi. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ "Narendra Modi invites all SAARC heads to swearing-in". India Today. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Inviting SAARC leaders 'right decision at right time': Modi". The Hindu. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Afghan President Karzai to attend Modi's swearing-in". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Panda, Ankit (22 May 2014). "Modi Reaches Out to SAARC Leaders Ahead of Swearing-In as Prime Minister". The Diplomat. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Haroon Habib (22 May 2014). "Bangladesh Speaker to attend Modi's swearing-in". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Bhutan's prime minister arrives in Delhi to attend Modi's swearing-in". DNA. New Delhi. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "India inauguration: South Asian leaders unite around Narendra Modi". CNN. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Maldivian President arrives in Delhi for Narendra Modi's oath ceremony". Zee News. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ "Rajapaksa, Ramgoolam arrive for Modi's swearing-in ceremony". Times of India. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Nepal PM arrives in Delhi for Modi's oath ceremony". Business Standard. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be attending Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on May 26; bilateral meeting on May 27". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "PDP, NC leaders welcome Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's acceptance to Narendra Modi's swearing-in". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Narendra Modi should have asked Nawaz Sharif to bring Dawood along: JP Agarwal". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Barry, Ellen (24 May 2014). "In Possible Thaw, Pakistani Leader Agrees to Attend Swearing-In Ceremony in India". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ Sanjana Pandit (22 October 2013). "Sri Lankan's Mahinda Rajapaksa likely to bring along Northern province CM CV Wigneswaran to Narendra Modi's swearing in ceremony". DNA. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Invite to Sri Lanka president irks Narendra Modi's friend J Jayalalithaa, ally Vaiko". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Mahinda Rajapakse's attendance in Narendra Modi's oath ceremony saddest day for Tamils: Vaiko". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ "NDA ally Vaiko meets Narendra Modi, says Mahinda Rajapaksa should not be invited". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Utilise Lankan President's visit to solve Tamils issue, CPI(M) tells new Narendra Modi government". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Tamil students in Delhi chant anti-Rajapaksa slogans to dissuade him from attending Modi's swearing-in". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Narendra Modi welcomes Pakistan, Sri Lanka's move to release Indian fishermen". DNA. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Tibetan leader at Modi's swearing in irks China". Times of India. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
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- ^ "Jayalalitha, Siddaramaiah, Oomen Chandy to skip Modi's swearing-in ceremony". New Delhi. Deccan Chronicle. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Mamata Banerjee, Oommen Chandy to give Modi's swearing-in a miss". New Delhi. Times of India. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ Gupta, Suchandana (25 May 2014). "Chouhan and ministers to be present in Modi swearing-in ceremony". Times of India. Bhopal. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Bollywood celebrities excited to witness Modi's swearing-in ceremony". Times of India. New Delhi. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Rajinikanth Invited to Narendra Modi's Swearing-In". NDTV. New Delhi. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. - ^ Maggo, Yamini (25 May 2014). "Narendra Modi's swearing-in: A tea vendor from Vadodara gets invitation". Zee News. Vadodara. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Giant screens for PM show in Delhi". Times of India. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Himachal BJP to celebrate Modi's swearing-in like 'Diwali'". India Today. Shimla. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Celebrations planned to mark Modi's swearing-in ceremony". Times of India. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "For Vadodara, Modi's swearing-in a 'pride day'". Indian Express. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "BJP to celebrate Modi's swearing-in in various ways". The Free Press Journal. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ D’Souza, Vincent (23 May 2014). "Ganigas Order 5K Laddus to Celebrate Modi's Swearing-in". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Indian-Americans celebrate Narendra Modi's historic win". Hindustan Times. Washington. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- Padiyath, Sneha (16 May 2014). "Times Square NY celebrates Modi win". Business Standard. Retrieved 12 June 2014. - ^ Sreenivas, Shikha (14 May 2014). "If Modi wins, get free Methi pakoda!". The Hans India. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
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External links
Media related to Swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi at Wikimedia Commons
