President-elect Ram Nath Kovind will be sworn-in on Tuesday. (PTI/File photo)
President-elect Ram Nath Kovind will be sworn-in as the 14th President of the country on Tuesday. The Ceremony of assumption of office will be held at 12.15 PM in the Central Hall of Parliament House, New Delhi.
The Prime Minister, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India, Speaker of the Lok Sabha will be attending the ceremony in the Central Hall. Also present during the ceremony will be Members of Council of Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament and Principal Civil and Military Officers of the Government of India.
As per the norms, President-elect Ram Nath Kovind, escorted by the military service will first come to Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt to meet the incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee. From there, both the President and President-elect will arrive in the Central Hall in a ceremonial procession. They will be received by presiding officers of the two Houses — the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Vice-President, who is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
As per the protocols, Ram Nath Kovind will take the Oath of office in the presence of the Chief Justice of India. After this, a 21-Gun Salute will be fired. The newly-elected President will then deliver an address in the Central Hall. After this, he will leave with his predecessor for Rashtrapati Bhavan. Inter-services guard of honour will be given to Ram Nath Kovind in the forecourt at Raisina Hill and courtesies will be extended to the outgoing President. Pranab Mukherjee will also be giving the new President a tour of the official residence — the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Later, President Ram Nath Kovind will escort Mukherjee to his new residence — 10, Rajaji Marg, where former President A P J Abdul Kalam also lived. This would be Mukherjee’s last ride in the Presidential limousine. A dress rehearsal is said to have taken place on Saturday for the same.
Ram Nath Kovind became the President of India after winning over 7 lakh votes while Meira Kumar lagged far behind with just 3.6 lakh votes. While the NDA candidate got the votes of 522 MPs, opposition’s face Kumar was able to get only 225 MPs to vote for her.
