Guests treated to delectable vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: The swearing–in ceremony of the new Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was executed with pomp and show here at the Rashtrapati Bhavan — a reminder that the jubilation and celebration of the huge victory garnered by the BJP in the national elections continues.
Apart from the swearing-in of Modi — the man of the moment, the messiah who is slated to usher in a new era for the country that had being caught in an aimless drift under the previous Congress-led regime — the names of new Cabinet ministers of India were also revealed.
President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 63-year-old Modi as India’s 15th Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers in the presence of a host of leaders. The ceremony was held at the lawns of the huge mansion, designed and executed by Eduard Lutyens during the zenith of British power in India in the early 20th century.
Modi, who was dressed in a white full sleeve kurta, a beige Nehru jacket and a white pajama, was sworn-in as the Prime Minister along with 44 other handpicked ministers to help him in administering the country. Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former presidents Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda were among the nearly 5000 people who thronged the open air venue.
The statement of Modi, the new PM simply said, ‘As we devote ourselves to take India’s development journey to newer heights, we seek your support, blessings and active participation. Together we will script a glorious future for India.”
Modi who rose from the ranks off the Hindu right wing RSS, added, ‘’Let us together dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development.”
Some of the prominent members who took oath included: Rajnath Singh who will head the Home Ministry, Sushma Swaraj, who got the External Affairs portfolio, Arun Jaitley as expected got the Finance Ministry as well as Defence, former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu will be Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the new government. Another former party president Nitin Gadkari landed the Transport Ministry. Sadananda Gowda got charge of the Railways.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti will be Union Minister for Water Resources. Najma Heptulla will have charge of Minority Affairs.
Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde was handed the Rural Development Ministry. Former UP BJP chief Kalraj Mishra has also been made a Cabinet minister. Maneka Gandhi will be Union Minister for Women and Child Development. Ananth Kumar will be holding the Chemicals and Fertiliser Ministry.
Ravi Shankar Prasad would have the dual charge of Law Minister and Telecom. Jual Oram will be Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs. Radha Mohan Singh, a Bihar BJP leader, will hold the key portfolio of Agriculture. Prakash Javadekar, senior BJP spokesperson, will be Information and Broadcasting Minister and will also head Environment.
Smriti Irani, 38, who took on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in a spirited contest in Amethi in the general election, would be the Human Resource Development minister. Delhi BJP chief Harsh Vardhan will be the new Health Minister.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman will be the new Commerce Minister with independent charge. BJP Rajya Sabha member Piyush Goel will be Power and Coal Minister with independent charge. Party general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan will have independent charge of the high-profile Oil Ministry.
Among the BJP’s allies in the NDA who were sworn-in, included Bihar leader Ram Vilas Paswan –in charge of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; TDP’s Ashok Gajapathi Raju will be Civil Aviation Minister, Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete has also been sworn in. Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur will be Food Processing Minister.
The Modi stamp is evident on the portfolios and those chosen to lead the various arms of the government. The allies have been restricted. In another departure from the past, dynasties and continuity have been discarded as no scions of prominent politicians have been included in the Union Council of Ministers. Those ignored include Poonam Mahajan (daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan), Jayant Sinha (son of senior party leader Yashwant Sinha), Dushyant Raje (son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje) and Abhishek Singh (Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s son). Modi has gone for people in whom he has total faith. He has brought to the fore many women leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Anandiben Patel, Smriti Irani, Nirmala Seetharaman and Sumitra Mahajan.
Soon after the nearly 100 minute ceremony, guests were seen digging in at the largely vegetarian fare constituting of dhokla, rasgulla, rajbhog, kachauri, imarti, mattar ki khasta potli, patties, sandwiches, cookies, khandvi, cutlets, vegetarian hariali kababs, cold drinks, tea and coffee. Another select group of 400 were gearing up for another round of celebrations, this time a banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee in the grey dining room which can accommodate at a time only 60 guests.
Interestingly, the menu for the banquet included some non-vegetarian dishes, to delight the palates of guests including those from the SAARC region.
Giving an impressive display of the varied cuisine from India the appetizers include chilled melon soup served in melon shells, followed by chicken and mutton delicacies for non-vegetarians and tandoori aloo and colacasia kababs for vegetarians. There was also prawn stew, Birbali kofta curry, kela methi nu shaaak (a Gujarati dish), daal makhni, potol dolma and Jaipuri bhindi. Dessert was a choice of pineapple halwa, mango shrikhand, sandesh and fruit.
This is the first time that the Rashtrapati Bhawan saw guests attending a ceremony in such huge numbers. The earlier ones were attended by not more than 1,400-1,500 guests maximum. The open air event this evening was televised live.
Also, the previous ceremonies were held indoors at the famous Ashoka Hall where about 500 guests could be accommodated, said Omita Paul, Secretary to the President of India.
A stage was erected at the base of the steps of the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, with hundreds of chairs placed in a semi-circle facing it for the ceremony.
Earlier, the swearing-in ceremonies were held at Ashoka Hall, with a restricted guest list of around 400-500 people, according to Paul.
“It is a one of its kind function being held by Rashtrapati Bhawan. We have tried to take care of each detail. It was a huge logistical challenge for us,” Paul told the media.
With Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha among the guests, nothing was left for chance. Security was tightened with more than 10,000 elite guards keeping a vigil over the proceedings. Among them were the highly trained Special Protection Group (SPG), the National Security Guards (NSG) and several crack para-military outfits. Sniper nests have been established at the adjoining buildings. There has been a constant air vigil too.