The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet is underway at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Several dignitaries are in attendance. We bring you the latest updates.
Here are the live updates
8:40 pm Maneka Gandhi Could Be Pro-tem Speaker
Senior BJP leader and eight-time MP Maneka Gandhi is likely to be the pro-tem speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha elections, sources told PTI.
Meanwhile, Babul Supriyo and Anurag Thakur
8:33 pm: Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh Sworn In
Kiren Rijiju, Prakash Javadekar, and Piyush Goyal were also sworn in to Modi’s cabinet. They were also part of Modi’s previous cabinet.
8:10 pm: Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant Takes Oath
7:35 pm: Smriti Irani Takes Oath
7:30 pm: S Jaishankar Sworn Into Union Cabinet
7:30 pm: Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsimrat Badal Take Oath
7:25 pm: Hackers Post Beef Fry Recipe On Delhi BJP Website
Meanwhile, as the swearing in is underway, the Delhi BJP website has been hacked. The hackers have posted a beef fry recipe on it.
7:20 pm: Gadkari, Sitharaman Take Oath
7:11 pm: Amit Shah Sworn-In Into Union Cabinet For The First Time
7:10 pm: Rajnath Singh Takes Oath Into Union Cabinet
7:05 pm: Narendra Modi Sworn In As Prime Minister For Second Term
7:00 pm: Modi Arrives For Swearing-In
6:40 pm: Rahul, Sonia Arrive For Swearing-In
6:35 pm: Manmohan Singh, LK Advani Arrive For Modi’s Swearing-In
6:30 pm: Rajinikanth Arrives At Rashtrapati Bhavan
6:25 pm: JD(U) Won’t Be Part Of Government At Centre, Says Nitish Kumar
According to NDTV Nitish Kumar on Thursday said that his party won’t be a part of the Modi government at the Centre. He reportedly said, “BJP’s offer unacceptable”.
6:06 pm: Amit Shah And Babul Supriyo Arrive In Rashtrapati Bhavan For Swearing-In
5:45 pm: Mamata Banerjee On Dharna In West Bengal’s Naihati
As Modi’s swearing-in is set to begin in a few hours, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is sitting on a dharna in West Bengal’s Naihati. The dharna is against the violence during polls in Bengal. She has blamed the BJP for the violence.
Speaking at the dharna, she told the crowd that BJP was bringing in hooliganism and terror to Bengal. She said, “When people don’t get to eat, then they will understand.”
“They are lying everyday. They are saying 54 people have been killed. We are not for murders or terrorism,” Banerjee said. “I will take revenge,” she said.
5:42 pm: This Tea Seller Is In Delhi Just For The Swearing-In
Meanwhile, Ashok, who is from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, is selling tea in Delhi to show support for Modi. He has painted his body in BJP colours. He says he will leave Delhi once Modi takes oath.
5:24 pm: Will Former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar Be In Modi’s Cabinet?
Speculation was rife on whether former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is going to in Narendra Modi’s cabinet as he arrived at the prime minister’s resident for the high tea at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
4:53 pm: Amit Shah To Be In Modi Cabinet, Confirms Gujarat BJP Chief
4:28 pm BIMSTEC Leaders Arrive In Delhi
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering arrived in Delhi on Thursday, while Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid arrived in the national capital last night to participate in the oath taking ceremony of Modi and the Council of Ministers.
This morning, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth arrived in India. Jugnauth had recently visited India in January as the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
4:04 pm: Nepal Prime Minister Arrives In Delhi For Swearing-In
3:25 pm: President Of Kyrgyzstan Arrives In Delhi To Attend Modi’s Swearing-In
2:10 pm: Smriti Irani, Babul Supriyo Likely To Be In Modi’s New Cabinet
Ministers selected for oath of office will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 4:30 pm on Thursday. Modi held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah to give shape to his council of ministers before sending the list to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Modi and Shah have held several rounds of discussions in the last two days ahead of government formation.
Shah, the architect of BJP’s victory of 303 seats in the Lok Sabha, is believed to be among those who will join the Modi cabinet and is tipped to get either Home or Finance, sources said.
Other senior party leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
The others tipped to get a ministerial berth include Sadananda Gowda, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Jayant Sinha, Giriraj Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Thawarchand Gehlot, Dilip Ghosh, Jitendra Singh and Purshottam Rupala.
Among some of the new faces that are likely to be inducted include Prahlad Patel from Madhya Pradesh, Kailash Chowdhry from Rajasthan, Krishna Reddy from Telangana and Suresh Angedi from Karnataka and Raosaheb Danve from Maharashtra. (PTI)
2:00 pm: Here Are The List Of Ministers Who Will Meet Modi This Evening
12:23 pm: Modi, Shah Hold Final Consultations Before Swearing In
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah and is learnt to have given shape to his council of ministers ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of his new government in the evening.
The list of union ministers is likely to be sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan soon, sources said.
12:06 pm: Delhi Police Traffic Advisory In Light Of Oath Ceremony
11:55 pm: Mizoram CM To Not Attend Swearing-in Ceremony
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday, an official at the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Zoramthanga, who is also the president of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), will not be present at the oath- taking ceremony due to “tight official engagements”, Lalhmansanga, personal secretary to the chief minister, said.
“State Information and Public Relations Minister Lalruatkima, newly elected MP C Lalrosanga and former two-time Lok Sabha member Vanlalzawma would attend the ceremony on behalf of the chief minister,” Lalhmansanga said.
11:41 am: Kangana, SRK To Rajinikath, Here Are The Stars Who Have Been Invited
The who’s who of the country from sports legends Rahul Dravid and Saina Nehwal to movie superstars Rajinikanth and Shah Rukh Khan have been invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, sources said.
Industry bigwigs such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Ratan Tata have also been invited for the event, they said.
Former sprinter PT Usha, cricketers Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, badminton coach Pulella Gopichand and gymnast Dipa Karmakar are among the sports personalities invited to the ceremony, the sources said.
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11:32 am: Modi Pays Tributes To Mahatma Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Ahead of being sworn in as the prime minister for a second consecutive term, Narendra Modi Thursday morning paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and BJP veteran late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He also placed a wreath at the National War Memorial adjoining the India Gate here. The prime minister visited Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, around 7 am. Later, he went to Sadaiv Atal, the lotus-shaped memorial of former prime minister Vajpayee.
Several senior BJP leaders, including party chief Amit Shah, were also present.
11:29 am: Bengal BJP Chief Takes Dig At Mamata
West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh took a dig at Mamata Banerjee saying she couldn’t face the families of the BJP workers who had been killed in the state.
Banerjee on Thursday said she would not attend Modi’s swearing because BJP leaders were spreading false news about killings of party workers in Bengal.
11:10 am One Minister From Shiv Sena To Take Oath
10:45 am: Narendra Modi To Take Oath As Prime Minister At 7 pm Today
After a bigger victory that in 2014, with the BJP winning 303 seats, Narendra Modi is going to be sworn in at 7 pm on Thursday.
Speculation is rife about who will make to to the new cabinet as his ministers will also take oath along with him. A day before the swearing-in Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wrote a letter to Modi opting out of the new cabinet because of health concerns.
Several dignitaries are on the guest list. All chief ministers and governors of state have been invited for his swearing in. Over 8000 guest are likely to attend ceremony.
The opposition leaders who have been invited include Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, JD(S) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Invitations have also been sent out to all the major regional and national political parties of the country.
While most chief ministers are likely to attend the ceremony, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did a u-turn over her attendance. She and Modi have been at loggerheads over violence in Bengal.
President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and other members of the Union Council of Ministers during a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 pm on Thursday.
The invitation to opposition leaders is seen as Modi’s move to reach out to them following the fiercely fought election in which the BJP registered a massive victory.
India invited leaders of the BIMSTEC countries as well as Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and Mauritius PM Jugnauth for the Modi’s swearing-in.
Pakistan tried to downplay India not inviting prime minister Imran Khan for the event, saying that they would rather have constructive dialogue than attend the swearing-in.
In 2014, India had invited them Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif as a gesture friendship. Other SAARC countries had also been invited.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov also confirmed their participation at the event, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, and Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli have confirmed their participation at Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
He said President of Myanmar U Win Myint and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering also confirmed their attendance at the event. From Thailand, Kumar said, its Special Envoy Grisada Boonrach will represent the country at the ceremony.
“We look forward to receiving the dignitaries in New Delhi for the ceremony,” said the MEA spokesperson.
India invited leaders of the BIMSTEC countries as well as Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and Mauritius PM Jugnauth for the Modi’s swearing-in.
Besides India, BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.