Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India today (July 25) at the Central Hall of Parliament. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath of office of the highest constitutional post of the country to Murmu.
The oath taking ceremony was followed by a 21-gun salute, after which Murmu addressed the gathering at the Central Hall as the 15th President of India. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Murmu’s daughter Itishree, a bank officer and her husband Ganesh Hembram, have reached New Delhi and are staying with the President elect.
Only four members of the President-elect’s family – brother, sister-in-law, daughter and son-in-law – have attended the oath taking ceremony, said a senior BJP leader adding that essence of adivasi’ culture and tradition could be reflected in the swearing in of the country’s 15th President .
BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday left on a four day tour to the national capital during which he is scheduled to attend Murmu’s swearing in ceremony.
Apart from six BJP MLAs from Mayurbhanj district, three members of the Ishwariya Prajapati Brahmakumari’s Rairangpur branch- Brahma Kumari Supriya, Brahma Kumari Basanti and Brahma Kumar Govind, have also reached New Delhi and met Murmu during the day, sources said.
Meanwhile, Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisweswar Tudu, party MPs Suresh Pujari, Basant Panda,Sangeeta kumara Singhdeo and her husband KV Singhdeo, met Murmu in New Delhi. They are expected to be present at the ceremony.
