In a spectacular ceremony, comprising the largest ever gathering in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of the country on Monday.
More than 4,000 guests, including the heads of nations, some of the foremost business tycoons, hundreds of parliamentarians, representatives from various religious communities and stars from Bollywood watched him and his Ministers take oaths of office before President Pranab Mukherjee. They were guarded by 10,000 security personnel.
Modi arrived in his Scorpio SUV shortly after 6 pm. He was greeted by his Cabinet colleagues — party president Rajnath Singh, past presidents Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu and senior leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. Wearing a pastel-coloured Nehru jacket over a full-sleeved off-white Kurta and sporting a tri-coloured badge, Modi took oath in Hindi. The next to take oath was Rajnath Singh followed by another party veteran Sushma Swaraj and then Arun Jaitley.
His special guests including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, PM from Nepal Sushil Koirala, Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other SAARC leaders, occupied the front-row seats. There were cheers after the arrival of each of their names were announced, the loudest being for Sharif.
The Congress supremos Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were also present. The outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur. Seated in the front row was lK Advani, with another veteran and former BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi, who did not figure in the Cabinet list. Mukesh Ambani was accompanied by his wife Nita and two sons. Gautam Adani also came with his family.
SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav attended the ceremony with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was also present. Those conspicuous by their absence were the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha and Rajasthan.
Adding a dash of glamour to the occasion were the Bollywood stars Salman Khan with his father Salim and brother Sohail; newly elected MP Hema Malini with Dharamendra; Shatrughan Sinha, Kirron Kher and Anupam Kher and Vivek Oberoi.
Also present were large number of religious heads including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Morari Bapu, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, Sadhvi Rithambara who were also seated in the front row of guests.
Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, a statement was posted on the revamped website of the PMO, urging Indians to “dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development”.
Directly after the inauguration, Modi was scheduled to attend a dinner for regional heads of state including the outgoing Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri lanka, before heading to 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of the Prime Minister.