he occasion was ceremonial but it was a
carnival atmosphere as Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister
before the largest-ever gathering at Rashtrapati Bhawan, which became a
confluence of people as varied as Presidents, Prime Ministers, film
stars, corporate and religious leaders.
Never before have well
over 4000 people gathered in the forecourt of the majestic Presidential
house as they did today to watch the change of guard from Manmohan Singh
to the man from Gujarat for whom the oath-taking ceremony was the
culmination of a breathtaking political journey.
The heat did not deter the Modi admirers who had come hours ahead. There were a few fans to cool them but they mostly depended on their invitation cards to generate some breeze till the sun set and made it bearable.
'Modi, Modi' up went the chants when the PM-designate arrived shortly before 6 PM as if this was yet another of his election gatherings that the nation had witnessed over the past many months.
Before Modi arrived, his special guests from abroad--Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and other SAARC leaders--had taken their front-row seats. As each name was announced there were cheers, the loudest being reserved for the Pakistani leader.
Wearing a pastel-coloured Nehru jacket over a full-sleeved off-white Kurta and sporting a tri-coloured badge, Modi took oath in Hindi in the name of God. He was lustily cheered. The next to take oath was Rajnath Singh, the leader seen most with the new Prime Minister during the election campaign. He was followed by another party veteran Sushma Swaraj and then Arun Jaitley.
Modi became the third
Prime Minister since Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandra Shekhar to assume
the top office in the sprawling red-sand forecourt. The glamour
quotient in the ceremony came from cinestars Salman Khan and Vivek
Oberoi, actor-turned-politicians Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha, who
have been elected in the recent elections, and her husband Dharmendra,
who were all seen enjoying the moment. The presence of large number
religious gurus, many of whom added saffron tint to the ceremony,
including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Morari Bapu, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya,
Sadhvi Rithambara was prominent in the front row of guests. While
Mukesh Ambani was accompanied by his wife Nita and two sons, his brother
Anil brought his mother Kokilaben. Gautam Adani also came with his
family.
SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present in the ceremony but Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik gave it a miss.
The heat did not deter the Modi admirers who had come hours ahead. There were a few fans to cool them but they mostly depended on their invitation cards to generate some breeze till the sun set and made it bearable.
'Modi, Modi' up went the chants when the PM-designate arrived shortly before 6 PM as if this was yet another of his election gatherings that the nation had witnessed over the past many months.
Before Modi arrived, his special guests from abroad--Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and other SAARC leaders--had taken their front-row seats. As each name was announced there were cheers, the loudest being reserved for the Pakistani leader.
Wearing a pastel-coloured Nehru jacket over a full-sleeved off-white Kurta and sporting a tri-coloured badge, Modi took oath in Hindi in the name of God. He was lustily cheered. The next to take oath was Rajnath Singh, the leader seen most with the new Prime Minister during the election campaign. He was followed by another party veteran Sushma Swaraj and then Arun Jaitley.
SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present in the ceremony but Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik gave it a miss.
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| RELEASING BALLONS |
 |
| LIGHTING CRACKERS |
 |
| DHIONI @ CEREMONY |
 |
| FORECOURT |
 |
| DHARMENDRA, JOSHI, HEMAMALINI, KOILA BEN |
 |
| GAVASKAR, SALMAN |
 |
| SATRUGHAN SINHA, ANUPAM KHER, HEMAMALINI |
 |
| SONIA RAHUL |
 |
| ANIL, POONAM THILLON |
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