Narendra Modi swearing-in ceremony live updates: Modi takes oath as PM for second time

BJP leader Narendra Modi on Thursday was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time.

By winning 303 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party got the decisive mandate to rule the country for the next five years. Even though the party has the required numbers to form the government on its own, it has decided to accommodate its allies in the Ministries.

Leaders of the BIMSTEC nations were invited to take part in the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on May 30.

Here are the live updates:

Ashwini Kumar Choubey

Ashwini Kumar Choubey. File  

Ashwini Kumar Choubey served as Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in Modi 1, and a member of the 16th Lok Sabha. He was re-elcted from Buxar in 2019.

Mansukh L. Mandaviya

Mansukh Mandaviya. File   | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, 46, is one of the young members of Modi 1.0 in which he served as Minister of State. He is from Gujarat and has also served as an MLA in the State.

Hardeep Singh Puri

BJP candidate from Amristsar Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.  

Diplomat-turned-politician, Hardeep Singh Puri made his unsuccessful foray into electoral battle in Amritsar in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Puri was made Union Minister of State for Urban Housing in September 2017 and a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh in January 2018. He has authored two books — Perilous Interventions: The Security Council  and the Politics of Chaos and Delusional Politics: Back To The Future. His wife Lakshmi Puri is also a diplomat, and is curently serving as Deputy Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships, Coordination and Intergovernmental Support Bureau, U.N. Women.

R.K. Singh

Raj Kumar Singh. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@RajKSinghIndia  

 

This former bureaucrat is the MP from Bihar's Arrah seat. He joined the BJP in 2013 and was fielded in Arrah the next year. In 2019, he defeated CPI(M-L)(L)'s Raju Yadav by more than 1,40,000 votes. He served as MoS in the renewable energy and power Ministries in Modi 1.0. 

Prahlad Singh Patel

Prahalad Patel. File   | Photo Credit: Kommuri Srinivas

This is the second stint for Prahalad Patel as a Minister. He previously held the portfolio of coal in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ministry. Mr. Patel was the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Mahasangh, the trade union wing of the BJP. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Madhya Pradesh's Damoh constituency.

Kiren Rijju

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju. File  

Kiren Rijju takes oath.  The Minister of State for Home Affairs in the outgoing government, Mr. Rijiju is the face of BJP in the Northeast. He is representing  Arunachal (West) for the third time. Known for his oratory skills, Mr. Rijiju is one of the few leaders from the Northeast to make a mark in the national scene. His father Rinchin Kharu was the first pro-tem Speaker of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. Mr. Rijiju faced criticism for the MHA's decision to send Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar at a time when the country was accused of ethnic cleansing. He also had to apologise in the Lok Sabha for mistakenly referring Tamils as refugees.

Jitendra Singh

Jitendra Singh.  

Jitendra Singh takes oath.  Dr. Singh represents Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur in Lok Sabha. An endocrinology professor and a practicing medical professional, Dr. Singh was a junior Minister in the PMO and in-charge of North East Development in the outgoing government. Dr. Singh courted controversy with his remarks on abolishing the Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. 

Shripad Yesso Naik

Shripad Yesso Naik takes oath. Mr. Naik is the BJP's North Goa MP. He served as MoS in the AYUSH and Health Ministries in the previos government.

Rao Inderjit Singh sworn in

Rao Inderjit Singh is represents Gurgaon in Haryana. A senior Ahirwal leader he served as Union Minister of State for Planning (independent charge) in the first Modi Ministry. He joined the BJP before the Lok Sabha election in 2014. A five-time MP, he defeated his nearest rival and Congress leader Capt. Ajay Yadav with more than four lakh votes to win Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive term. He had earlier represented Mahendergarh Lok Sabha seat twice. Mr. Singh had quit Congress to join the BJP in 2014 following his differences with the then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Mr. Singh has also been Minister of State for External Affairs and Defence Production during the UPA rule. Descendant of Rao Tula Rao, the 1857-Independence War freedom fighter, he has earlier been MLA four times and served as minister in the Haryana government. His father late Rao Birender Singh has been Chief Minister of Haryana and Union Agriculture and Food and Supplies Minister.

Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh. File  

Santosh Kumar Gangwar

Santosh Kumar Gangwar   | Photo Credit: Ranjeet Kumar

Santosh Kumar Gangwar takes oath as MoS.

Mr. Gangwar represents Bareilly and held the the portfolio of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment in the previous Ministry.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. File   | Photo Credit: AP

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is sworn in.

He was the Minister of State for Agriculture in the previous Narendra Modi government. He defeated Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot in Jodhpur by a margin of 2.74 lakh votes.

Mr. Shekhawat is known for his active use of social media and is the most followed Indian politician on Quora. A person with RSS roots, Mr. Shekhawat is credited for organising Swadeshi Mela in Jodhpur, a platform to showcase indigeneous produces.

BJP leaders Prahlad Joshi, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arvind Ganpat Sawant take their oaths.

Giriraj Singh

New Delhi, 09/03/2015 : Giriraj Singh, BJP MP arrives at the Parliament House, in New Delhi on Monday. March 09, 2015. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty   | Photo Credit: Shanker Chakravarty

Firebrand BJP leader from Bihar Giriraj Singh is sworn in.

Mr. Singh won the Lok Sabha election this time from Begusarai by defeating CPI candidate and former JNU student’s union president Kanhaiya Kumar by over 4 lakh votes. Mr. Singh was the only minister from Bihar in previous Modi government.

Mr. Singh has often grabbed headlines with his talks that leaned towards hard Hindutva and muscular nationalism. The Election Commission took action against him for his anti-Muslim comments during the election campaign. Though known to be close to Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah, his political differences with State leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and State party chief Nityanand Rai is an open secret.

Piyush Goyal

Rajya Sabha member Piyush Goyal is sworn in as Union Minister.

Union finance Minister Piyush Goyal arrives at the Parliament to present the Interim Budget 2019, on Friday.   | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Railways and Coal Minister in the outgoing Cabinet, Mr. Goyal served as the Interim Finance Minister when Arun Jaitley was undergoing medical treatment. The last budget of the NDA government was presented by Mr. Goyal.

A Chartered Accountant and Law graduate, Mr. Goyal was an investment banker before joining politics. His father Ved Prakash Goyal was a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

The Muslim face of BJP, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016 from Jharkhand. He served as Minority Affairs Minister in Narendra Modi's government. He has also handled Parliamentary Affairs and I&B portfolios earlier as a junior minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi watches the watching the swearing-in ceremony on TV, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Thursday.   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Smriti Irani takes oath

Textile Minister in the previous Modi Cabinet, Smriti Zubin Irani takes oath as the crowd cheers her on.

History will remember the actor-turned-politician as the woman who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his traditional stronghold Amethi.

A firebrand leader, this is Ms. Irani's first entry to the Lok Sabha. She had unsuccessfully contested from Chandini Chowk and Amethi earlier.

Her stint as a Minister in Mr. Modi's cabinet was a controversial one. When she was the HRD Minister, Dalit Scholar Rohith Vemula ended his life citing harassment and witholding stipend in his suicide note, which spearheaded country-wide campus uprisings. During her term as I&B Minister, a set of National Awardees boycotted the event after it was announced that President won't be distributing awards to all of them. She was also the Textiles Minister. Ms. Irani's educational qualification was also a subject of debate as it was found that degree was different everytime she filed nomination for contesting elections.

Science and Technology Minister in the previous Cabinet, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, takes oath.

Prakash Javadekar

Prakash Javdekar, Union HRD Minister in the outgoing cabinet, takes oath.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar at the Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday.  

A prominent leader from Maharashtra who made it big in Delhi, Mr. Javadekar is currently a Rajya Sabha member elected from Madhya Pradesh. He had earlier held Environment, Information and Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios as well. Mr. Javadekar is also a spokesperson of the BJP.

He started his political career as a student leader of ABVP and took part in the anti-Emergency protests.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and former Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are also sworn into the new Cabinet.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda is sworn in.  He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Khunti seat in the State.

Ravi Shankar Prasad

Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made his maiden entry to the Lok Sabha by defeating his erstwhile party colleague Shatrugan Sinha in Bihar's Patnasahib constituency.

Ravi Shankar Prasad  

A Supreme Court lawyer, Mr. Prasad started his political journey as an ABVP leader. He had participated actively in the“JP movement”, a student movement in Bihar started by veteran socialist leader Jay Prakash Narayan.

His father Thakur Prasad too had been a leading advocate of the Patna High Court and one of the leading founders of the Jan Sangh, which later became BJP. Under Vajpayee and Narendra Modi's cabinet, Mr. Prasad ealier served as junior minister of Coal, Communication, and I&B too.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the daughter-in-law of Shironmani Akali Dal patriach Parkash Singh Badal. Her husband Sukhbir Singh Badal was formerly Punjab's Deputy Chief Mininster. Ms. Badal was one of the few women ministers in Modi's cabinet and handled Food Processing Ministry. She is the lone minister from Shironmani Akali Dal.

Rajya Sabha MP Thawar Chand Gehlot, former Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar are also sworn in.

Nirmala Sitharaman takes oath

Nirmala Sitharaman has the distinction of being the first full-time woman Defence Minister. Ms. Sitharaman hails from Tamil Nadu, is married into a Telugu family, and represents Karnataka in Rajya Sabha.

She first served as a junior minister handling commerce portfolio in the Narendra Modi cabinet before being elevated as the Defence Minister. She was also a spokesperson of BJP.

Ram Vilas Paswan

Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan is sworn in after Ms. Sitharaman.

Ram Vilas Paswan.   | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Mr. Paswan did not contest the General Elections this time, but his party had won all six parliamentary seats it had contested in Bihar. Under the seat-sharing pact of NDA, the BJP president Amit Shah had, earlier, announced that Mr. Paswan would be sent to Rajya Sabha on first opportunity.

Mr. Paswan has been a Union Minister under several Prime Ministers. He was the Labour Minister under V.P Singh, Railway Minister in the United Front government, handled Mines and IT portfolio during Vajpayee's rule and was the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers during UPA-1. In the outgoing cabinet, Mr. Paswan was the Consumer Affairs Minister.

Modi takes oath

Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister of India for the second time at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in News Delhi on Thursday, May 30, 2019.

Senior BJP leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, former Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda all take oaths as Union Ministers.

Sadananda Gowda

D.V. Sadananda Gowda  

Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Sadananda Gowda has been associated with the saffron party since Jana Sangh days. He was handpicked by B.S. Yeddyurappa to become the Karnataka Chief Minister when the veteran Karanataka BJP leader had to step down after his name surfaced in the illegal mining cases.

However, Mr. Gowda's chief ministership was short-lived as he had to make way for Jagadish Shetter. After facing a humiliating defeat in the 2013 Assembly elections, Mr. Gowda won the subsequent Lok Sabha elections from Bangalore North and shifted base to Delhi.

Mr. Gowda handled Railways, Law, Statistics, and Fertilizers Ministry in the outgoing government. Mr. Gowda presented the first Railway Budget of the Modi government, which had promised a high-speed bullet train. Two years later, the Railway Budget became a part of the General Budget.

JD(U) not joining Modi government

The BJP's ally Janata Dal (United) will not join the new Narendra Modi government, its spokesperson Pavan Varma said on Thursday, in what appears to be a sign of differences with the saffron party over the number of ministerial berths offered to it.

“We are not joining the government. This is our decision,” Mr. Varma, who is also the general secretary of the Janata Dal (United), said.

The BJP was offering one cabinet berth to the JD(U) and sources said the regional party was also unhappy with the portfolio offered to it.

The JD(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was not a part of the first Modi government as well. It had allied with the saffron party in 2017 but had not joined the government.

Who will be a part of Modi’s Cabinet? Amit Shah, says Gujarat BJP chief

As preparations are on for the swearing-in of a new government led by Narendra Modi, various BJP and National Democratic Alliance constituents have begun receiving calls to join the Cabinet.

The Minister-designates have started arriving at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg to meet Mr. Modi. The swearing-in ceremony is set to begin at 7 p.m.

The Shiv Sena on Thursday said its Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant will be part of the Union Council of Ministers.

Jagan, KCR visit to Delhi for Modi’s swearing-in cancelled

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s visit to New Delhi to attend the swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister has been cancelled.

Party sources said that Mr. Reddy had to cancel his visit as the Delhi Airport authorities said that there was no provision for his special flight to land after 3.30 p.m.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao and Mr. Reddy were expected to go together in same flight to New Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Mr. Modi. — Our Special Correspondent G. Venkataramana Rao reports from Vijayawada

Cine stars land in capital for Modi's swearing-in

The A-listers of Indian film industry such as Karan Johar, Rajinikanth, Boney Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut are expected to attend Mr. Modi's swearing-in ceremony.

Sidharth Roy Kapur, president of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, and actor Shahid Kapoor confirmed to PTI that they will be present for the event.

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor said he feels "happy and fortunate" to be a part of the ceremony.

"The kind of victory they have had, It is almost like a celebration. It is celebration of democracy. Something good has happened and it will continue to happen," Mr. Kapoor told PTI.

Before she flew in from Mumbai, Ranaut told reporters she wished Mr. Modi all the best for his future endeavours.

"The PM has set some goals and we all heard that in his speech. All our best wishes with him, that he is able to do what is best for the country and be able to fulfil all his goals. He is an extremely loved Prime Minister. He is here because of his hard work, we all can only appreciate him," she said.

Last year, the Prime Minister twice met a Bollywood delegation to discuss ways the entertainment industry can contribute towards nation building.

Producer Mahavir Jain, one of the organisers behind the two meetings, told PTI that the likes of Rajkumar Hirani, Rajinikanth, Aanand L Rai, Karan Johar, Sushant Singh Rajput, Divya Khosla Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Mangesh Hadawale and Abhishek Kapoor are attending the ceremony.

"It is an honour to be part of the swearing in ceremony. We are with the vision of our PM in nation building and it would be a privilege to contribute in our own way," he added.

Modi pays tributes to Gandhi, Vajpayee

Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi before taking oath later in the day.   | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Ahead of being sworn in as the Prime Minister for the second consecutive term, Narendra Modi on May 30 morning paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and BJP veteran late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He also placed a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister visited Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, at around 7.00 a.m. Later Mr. Modi went to Sadaiv Atal, the lotus-shaped memorial of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Mr. Modi and his council of ministers will take oath at 7.00 pm on May 30 evening at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Rahul, Sonia to attend swearing-in ceremony

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the swearing-in of Mr. Modi, party sources said.

The two Congress leaders are among those invited by the Prime Minister to the ceremony.

They have accepted the invite, they said.

Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik to skip Narendra Modi swearing-in

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said she will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday as the BJP is spreading information which is “untrue.’

Congratulating Mr. Modi, Ms. Banerjee said in a tweet that it was her “plan to attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, I am seeing media reports that the BJP [is] claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is completely untrue.”

Amit Shah to get on board Modi Cabinet?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah held marathon meetings on Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon to finalise the list of the new Council of Ministers to be administered the oath of office on Thursday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Senior party leader Rajnath Singh, too, met Mr. Modi.

Sources said the issue of what Mr. Shah’s role in the new government would be was also discussed.

BIMSTEC leaders confirm attending swearing-in

Several foreign leaders have confirmed participation at the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

The Presidents of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyz Republic and Myanmar and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan will attend the function, said an External Affairs Ministry statement here on Tuesday. Thailand will send a special envoy, Grisada Boonrach, its Agriculture and Cooperative Minister.

(With inputs from Agencies)