30 cabinet ministers in 71-member team from BJP, allies
Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh among retained ministers
BJP chief JP Nadda returns to Modi cabinet
NitinGadkari, NirmalaSitharaman& S Jaishankar also sworn in as Union ministers
TDP, JD(U), LJP, HAM & JD(S) get Cabinet ranks, other BJP allies get minister of state positions
Dignitaries include leaders from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh, & Seychelles
Modi’s third term follows two successful elections in 2014 & 2019
New Delhi, June 9 :NarendraModi took oath as Prime Minister for his third successive term at an impressive ceremony at RashtrapatiBhavan on Sunday evening with 71 MPs from the BJP and its allies joining the party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
President DroupadiMurmu administered the oath of office to PM Modi and members of his ministers team at the ceremony which was attended by leaders from India’s neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.
The colourful event, which reflected the rich diversity and vibrancy of India, was attended by senior political leaders, diplomats, leading industrialists, Bollywood actors and several other prominent personalities.
Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lanka President RanilWickremesinghe, Bhutan PM TsheringTobgay, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Mauritius Prime Minister PravindJugnauth, Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina attended the swearing-in ceremony of PM NarendraModi.
PM Modi’s oath-taking ceremonies have seen special foreign policy outreach. He began his first term in office in 2014 in presence of all Heads of States of SAARC nations. He invited BIMSTEC leaders at the start of the second term in 2019.
The council of ministers is a blend of youth and experience with senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, NitinGadkari, NirmalaSitharaman and S Jaishankar taking oath of office. Several young leaders from BJP and allies, including first-time MPs, also made it to the council of ministers. Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, who is the first BJP MP from Kerala and Harsh Malhotra, who won LokSabha polls from East Delhi, are among the first-time MPs in the union cabinet.
BJP chief JP Nadda also took oath as union minister in an indication that the party could have a new chief.
PM Modi’s ministers’ team has 30 Cabinet ministers, five Ministers of State with Independent charge and 36 Ministers of State. Most of MPs took oath in Hindi while some took it in English.
Allies of BJP in party-led NDA including JD-U and TDP joined the union government during the swearing in ceremony and Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was the first among the BJP’s partners to take oath of office and secrecy.
The four leaders who took oath after PM Modi – Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, NitinGadkari and JP Nadda – all have been former BJP chiefs.
The Union cabinet also has four former chief ministers – Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ManoharLalKhattar, HD Kumaraswamy and Jitan Ram Manjhi.
The BJP leadership sought to strike a balance in terms of state, regional and caste and community representation.
The MPs greeted President Murmu and PM Modi after taking oath as union minister.
Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, NirmalaSitharaman and S Jaishankar were members of Cabinet Committee on Security in the previous BJP-led NDA government as they held portfolios of defence, home, finance and External Affairs respectively.
Bollywood personalities present at the swearing in included Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, RaveenaTandon, Vikrant Massey, RajkumarHirani, Mahaveer Jain and Rajinikanth. IndustralistsMukeshAmbani, GautamAdani and Kumar Mangalam Birla also attended the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister NarendraModi. MukeshAmbani’s son AnantAmbani was also present.
Actor-turned-politicians KanganaRanaut and HemaMalini, both of whom are BJP MPs, were also present.
HD Kumaraswamy took oath of office after PM Modi and several senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, NitinGadkari and JP Nadda had taken oath of office.
The second leader among BJP’s allies in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take oath of office was also a former Chief Minister – Hindustani AwamMorcha (Secular) leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
While Janata Dal (Secular) JD(S) won only two seats in the LokSabha polls, Manjhi is the only representative of his party in the LokSabha.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) of JD-U and Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) took oath of office after Kumaraswamy and Manjhi.
Both TDP and JD-U are crucial allies of BJP in NDA government. TDP has 16 MPs and JD-U has 12 MPs in the LokSabha.
Among other leaders from among BJP’s allies who took oath of office were ChiragPaswan of LJP (Ram Vilas) and JayantChaudhary of RashtriyaLok Dal.
Kumaraswamy, Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ram Mohan Naidu, ChiragPaswan and JayantChaudhary took oath as cabinet ministers.
NCP did not join the government on Sunday with its chief AjitPawar stating that they did not think it right for their party leader Praful Patel to accept the charge of Minister of State with independent charge as offered by the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) as he had served as a Cabinet Minister earlier during the UPA government.”Praful Patel has served as a cabinet minister in the central government and hence we did not feel right in taking Minister of State with independent charge,” Pawar told the media.
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won its third succesive term in results of LokSabha polls declared on June 4. The NDA won 293 seats in the LokSabha polls with BJP getting 240 seats.
A meeting of union cabinet is likely to take place at 5 pm tomorrow.
Meanwhile, apart from two terms as Prime Minister beginning 2014, NarendraModi also has the distinction of being the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat with his term spanning from October 2001 to May 2014.
His previous two terms as Prime Minister have been marked by several key initiatives.
PM Modi has laid thrust on the motto of ‘SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas, SabkaVishwas’ and on “development-oriented and corruption-free governance”.
PM Modi has worked with speed and scale and ensured last-mile delivery of schemes and services.
His initiatives include Ayushman Bharat, PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana, Housing for All, PradhanMantriShram Yogi Man DhanYojana, UjjwalaYojana and PM KisanSammanNidhi, UDAN, Make in India.
The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan- Aadhaar- Mobile) has led to the elimination of middlemen and ensured transparency and speed, powered by technology.
In his first term as Prime Minister in 2014, PM Modi launched ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ a mass movement for cleanliness across the nation on Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary.
Under PM Modi’s leadership, BJP-led NDA governments have worked to create next-generation infrastructure be it in terms of more highways, railways, i-ways and waterways.
He began PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation) to expedite pending projects that were delaying growth.
PM Modi has also given special attention to India’s rich history and culture and is passionate about environmental causes.
Recognising his efforts towards environmental conservation, PM Modi was honoured with the United Nations ‘Champions of the Earth Award.’
Experts have said that PM Modi’s foreign policy initiatives have enhanced India’s stature on the global stage.
He began his first term in office in presence of all Heads of States of SAARC Nations and invited BIMSTEC leaders at the start of the second.
PM Modi has been conferred various honours including the highest civilian honour of Saudi Arabia Sash of King Abdulaziz.
PM Modi’s clarion call for marking a day as ‘International Day of Yoga’ received an overwhelming response at the UN. In a first, a total of 177 Nations across the world came together and passed the resolution to declare June 21 as the ‘International Day of Yoga at the UN.’
Born on September 17, 1950, in a small town in Gujarat, his family belonged to the ‘other backward class’ which is among the marginalised sections of society.
In his initial years, he worked with the RashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh and later devoted himself to politics working with the BharatiyaJanata Party organization at the national and state level.
PM Modi is known to have a powerful ‘personal connect’ with the people on the ground and is also known as India’s most techno-savvy leader, using the web to reach people and bring about change in their lives.
He has also authored several books, including poetry. PM Modi begins his day with Yoga.
PM Modi led the BJP-led NDA to a third successive victory in the LokSabha polls.
The BJP won an absolute majority on its own in the 2014 and 2019 LokSabha polls winning 282 and 303 seats respectively.
PM Modi leads an NDA coalition with 292 seats in the Parliament and has laid thrust on making India a developed nation by 2047.
“NDA government 1, 2, and now 3… this is continuity. We will take the country forward with more vision and comprehensive to ensure our resolutions, our commitment towards good governance and attempt towards fulfilling the dreams of the common people,” he told the media in RasthrapatiBhawan premises after staking claim to form the government on Friday.
“During this tenure of 10 years, India has emerged as a Vishwabandhu for the world. Its maximum advantage is starting now. And I am sure that the next 5 years are going to be very useful for India in the global environment as well. The world is going through many crises, many tensions, disasters…we Indians are fortunate that despite so many big crises, we are today known as the world’s fastest-growing economy. We are also being praised in the world for growth. I have had experience of doing the Prime Minister’s job for 10 years and will use this experience well,” he added. (ANI)
