 Narendra Modi takes the oath of office as the Prime Minister of India, with President Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath. | |
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| Date | 26 May 2014; 11 years ago (2014-05-26) |
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| Location | Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India 28°36′51″N77°11′56″E / 28.6143°N 77.199°E /28.6143; 77.199 |
| Participants | Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi First Modi ministry Assuming office President of India,Pranab MukherjeeAdministering oath |
2019 → | |
I, (name), do swear in the name of God (or, 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 a 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, afection or ill-will.
I, (name), do swear in the name of God (or, 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 a Prime Minister for the Union, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as Prime Minister.
Narendra Modi, parliamentary leader of theBharatiya Janata Party, started the first tenure of his prime ministership, after his oath of office as the 14thPrime Minister of India on 26 May 2014.[1] 45other 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 allSAARC countries.
Post thedeclaration of election results on 16 May 2014, Modi met thePresident of IndiaPranab Mukherjee on 20 May where Mukherjee invited Modi to form the next government. The BJP had won 282 seats and their allianceNational Democratic Alliance won a total of 336 seats in the 543-seatLok Sabha,[3] the strongest mandate since the1984 elections whereIndian 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]
The oath of office ceremony was held at the forecourts of theRashtrapati 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) andAtal Bihari Vajpayee (1998 and 1999, 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 asChief 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 theIndo-Tibetan Border Police was employed to secure the areas of the venue. The squad has previously been used at the time of2010 Commonwealth Games and other Naxal-affected regions.[7] India's national broadcasterDoordarshan 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 theRepublic 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 respectiveregional languages. The event was also the first of its kind to ever be streamed live onYouTube.[8] The ceremony cost the President's Estate ₹34 lakh.[9]
The guest-list includes various heads of the states, political parties and groups along with leaders ofSAARC countries. The event is hence viewed as a "major diplomatic event".[10]
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AllSAARC 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 – PresidentHamid Karzai accepted the invitation to attend the ceremony.[13] He is bound to leave the office postthe ongoing presidential elections. But his acceptance was seen as Afghanistan's interest in working with India in future. Media also noted that his either successorsAbdullah Abdullah andAshraf Ghani are pro-India.[14]
Bangladesh -Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the speaker ofJatiyo Sangshad, (the House of the Nation) accepted the invitation on behalf of the Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina as Hasina had a pre-planned visit to Japan.[15]
Bhutan - Prime MinisterTshering Tobgay attended the ceremony and planned to have a discussion on bilateral relations of the two countries on 27 May.[16]
Maldives -Maldivian PresidentAbdulla Yameen attended the ceremony.[17]
Mauritius - Mauritius Prime MinisterNavin Ramgoolam attended the ceremony.[18]
Nepal - Nepal Prime MinisterSushil Koirala accepted the invitation.[19]
Pakistan - Indian politicians reacted strongly afterNawaz Sharif accepted the invitation to the oath of office ceremony on May 24.[20] National Conference's (NC)Omar Abdullah was glad that the Pakistani Prime Minister 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) allyShiv Sena, which has been vocal against Pakistan forsponsoring 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 - PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa's invitation and attendance to the ceremony came under heavy criticism amongst Tamil Nadu politicians.[24] TheAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and NDA allyMarumalarchi 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 inKarachi and Nara jail inHyderabad in Sindh province. Modi welcomed this move of both the nations.[29]
Tibet - The prime minister of theTibetan Government-in-Exile,Lobsang Sangay, attended the ceremony. The Chinese government opposed the invitation to the Tibetan leader.[30]Outgoing Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, former PresidentsA. P. J. Abdul Kalam andPratibha Patil, Vice PresidentHamid Ansari, Congress presidentSonia Gandhi were among those who participated.[31] Chief Ministers of all states in India were invited to attend the event. Among them, theChief Minister of Karnataka,Siddaramaiah (INC) andChief Minister of Kerala,Oommen Chandy (INC) could not attend the ceremony due to their prior engagements though they gave their best wishes.[32] TheChief 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 theChief Minister of West Bengal,Mamata Bannerjee (AITC), decided to sendMukul Roy andAmit 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 includedSalman Khan,Dharmendra,Anupam Kher,Madhur Bhandarkar,Suresh Gopi,Vivek Oberoi,Lata Mangeshkar,Rajnikanth andAmitabh Bachchan.[35]
Kiran Mahida, a tea vendor fromVadodara 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 inShimla 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 6-9 PM 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 ofIndore,Madhya Pradesh.[41] 5,000laddus were ordered to be distributed by the Mysore Zilla Ganigara Sangha community inMysore,Karnataka.[42]
Celebrations were also carried out in theTimes Square ofNew York City and other cities ofUnited States of America by organizing "election watch parties".[43] An Indian restaurant inNew Jersey also promised freemethi pakodas if Modi won the elections.[44] Similar festivities were also seen amongst the Indians settled in Australia and Canada.[45]
Media related toFirst swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi at Wikimedia Commons
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