Vijay Rupani swearing-in on Tuesday; PM Modi, Amit Shah, 18 BJP CMs invited

Vijay Rupani was elected as the chief minister of Gujarat. (Express photo by Javed Raja)

The swearing-in of Vijay Rupani as Gujarat Chief Minister with his council of ministers will be take place in Gandhinagar on December 26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and chief ministers of 18 BJP-ruled states have been invited to the ceremony.

On Saturday, state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani and senior party leaders met Governor O P Kohli and staked claim to form the new government. “We also submitted a letter to the Governor, seeking his time to be present for the swearing-in ceremony of the new government which will be held on December 26 at 11 am on Sachivalay grounds at Gandhinagar,” Vaghani told mediapersons after meeting the Governor.

Last week, Chief Secretary J N Singh had visited three venues — Sardar Patel stadium and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar — to identify the venue for the oath-taking ceremony. “We have also invited Union ministers and other senior leaders of our party for the event,” said Vaghani. He, however, did not reveal who all will be included in the new cabinet.

Though the term of the 13th legislative Assembly expires on January 22, 2018, the Governor dissolved the Assembly on December 20 and asked Vijay Rupani, the incumbent chief minister, to continue as the caretaker chief minister till the formation of a new government.

Meanwhile, at the Voice of Unity event in Ahmedabad, the CM designate compared the nation to “almighty” and said, “National devotion and service through Hindu values in the presence of Hindu saints by Hindu institutions is a new message being passed through this event.”