December 15, 2024 06:45 (IST)
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India under Modi to begin today
New Delhi, May 26 (IBNS): A one-time have-not, today wielding colossal political power, hailed by patrons as a magic bullet and reviled by critics as a totalitarian despot, Narendra Modi will be sworn in as India's 15th Prime Minister, concluding the frenzy that has lasted for weeks in the world's largest democracy.
In the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, when the clock will strike six in the evening, Modi will be formally handed over the reins of the world's seventh largest, second-most populous nation in the presence of nearly 4,000 guests.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the 63-year-old Modi and his council of ministers in the presence of other leaders of this part of the world including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The ceremony that will witness a first-time attendance of nearly all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders will be held in the forecourt instead of the historic Durbar Hall, as was in the time of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to accommodate the large number of visitors.
Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and top leaders of the routed Congress party Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will watch the one hour-and-ten minute-long ceremony as will Modi's mother Hiraben.
Besides Sharif and Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will be among the foreign dignitaries attending the ceremony.
Bangladesh will be represented by Speaker Shirin Chaudhury as Premier Sheikh Hasina is travelling to Japan.
Electricians, municipality employees and workers toiled over the weekend to tend to and put the finishing touches to the venue and lay out ornate chairs, desert coolers and pedestal fans, and red carpets.
Facing a square dais that stood at a height of about one foot with the magnificent edifice of Rashtrapati Bhavan as a backdrop, a semi-circular seating was being arranged in the middle of the red sand covered rectangular ground.
White-coloured boards with directions in red, white pedestal fans and desert coolers and rolls of red carpets detailed the venue as did the presence of a huge stand for the media, set to the right of the stage, covered in a green coloured carpet.
In the lawns behind the forecourt, several maroon coloured tents have been put up where the dignitaries would be treated to a vegetarian high tea as the municipality will be on close call to fumigate the lawns at intervals to tackle mosquitoes.
With nearly 4,000 people on the guest list, the glittering ceremony will be one of the biggest events held at Rashtrapati Bhawan that is usually accustomed to large ceremonies attended by not more than 1,500 visitors.
"It is a one of its kind function being held by Rashtrapati Bhawan. We have tried to take care of each detail. It was a huge logistical challenge for us," said Omita Paul, secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee, at a media briefing on Sunday.
Besides foreign leaders and foreign diplomats, members of the former council of ministers, constitutional heads, 777 MPs of both houses, chief ministers, governors, journalists and some corporate leaders are also expected to attend the swearing-in, she said.
Barring the VVIPs, who will be allowed to come in their cars, the other guests will have to avail the 'pick and drop' facility and put up with a no bags and phones policy.
Around 12 horse-drawn buggies will be provided to ferry the attendees. Guests are to be seated in their chairs by 5 pm, after which the routes would be closed.
Nearly 10,000 security personnel, drawn from paramilitary forces as well as the Special Protection Group and the National Security Guard, will be deployed in and around the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
There will be a four-layered security around the presidential palace, with Delhi Police handling the outer layer, Delhi Police Joint Commissioner MK Meena said on Sunday.
He said prohibitory orders banning the assembly of five or more people has been imposed in New Delhi district.
Ahead of his swearing-in, Modi left for a visit to Rajghat on Monday morning to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
Following the swearing-in, he will move in to New Delhi's 7 Race Course Road, the clutch of seven bungalows spread over 12 acres that has housed India's heads of government for three decades.
(Reporting by Divyanshu Dutta Roy in New Delhi)
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