President Ram Nath Kovind administers oath of office to M Venkaiah Naidu. (Source: ANI_News/Twitter)
After securing an emphatic win in the Vice-presidential elections, M Venkaiah Naidu has been sworn in as the 13th Vice-President of India on Friday. He succeeds Hamid Ansari who held office for a decade. Naidu was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. As the Vice-President of India, Naidu will be holding the second highest constitutional office in the country.
Venkaiah Naidu swearing-in highlights:
11.30 am: Naidu takes over as Rajya Sabha Chairman after being sworn in. PM Narendra Modi welcomes him saying “Venkaiah Naidu has come to hold the high office from his long experience in Parliament. He has risen from grassroots, will lead Indian polity to greater heights.”
10.17 am: A day earlier, Venkaiah Naidu met former president of India Pranab Mukherjee. “Met Shri Pranab Mukherjee ji at his residence. I thank him for his warm best wishes for the future,” Naidu wrote on Twitter along with a couple of photos with Mukherjee.
10.07 am: M Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as the 13th Vice-President of India. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to him.
10.00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries are in attendance for the oath-taking ceremony of M Venkaiah Naidu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
9.45 am: A day before he assumed office, Naidu, 68, challenged the outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari’s views on the state of minorities in India. While Ansari in his last interview said that the Muslims of the country were feeling uneasy and insecure, Naidu was quick to dismiss the opinion by saying that India is the most tolerant country in the world. Naidu also alleged that some people were using minority issues to further their own political agenda.
9.40 am: Here’s some trivia. Since Naidu is known for his puns and one-liners, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently joked that in his new role as Rajya Sabha chairman, it would be a “challenge for Naidu to speak less and let others speak”.
9.35 am: “We must be mature enough to conduct the proceedings of Parliament in a smooth and meaningful manner. The chair is not only presiding officer but also custodian of the House. He is duty-bound to run it in accordance with responsibilities cast on him under rules, procedures and conventions. It is for the Chair to enforce rules but also seek cooperation from members,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
9.30 am: Expressing his disapproval on the disruptions during parliamentary sessions, Naidu on Thursday said he would enforce rules to run the Rajya Sabha but also seek cooperation from members.
