Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 25: Droupadi Murmu took the oath as India’s 15th president to lead the nation’s highest constitutional position on Monday morning. There will be a 21-gun salute after the ceremony.
The oath ceremony took place at the Central Hall of Parliament. Droupadi Murmu was sworn into office as the president by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana.
“I am the first President of the country who was born in independent India. We will have to speed up our efforts to meet the expectations that our freedom fighters had with the citizens of independent India,” she said in her speech after taking the oath.
“Reaching the Presidential post is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor in India. My nomination is evidence that the poor in India can not only dream but also fulfill those dreams,” the president added.
President Murmu went on to say, “Satisfying to me that the people who were devoid of development for years -the poor, Dalits, backward, the tribals- can see me as their reflection. My nomination has blessings of the poor behind it, it’s a reflection of the dreams and capabilities of crores of women.”
Early in the day, the President-elect paid her homage to the Father of the Nation by going to Rajghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi.
She then had a meeting with Savita Kovind, the first lady, and outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind. Prior to the taking of the oath, the President-elect and the outgoing President entered parliament in a formal parade.
The two were taken in the presidential limousine as it drove away from Rashtrapati Bhavan and toward parliament for the official oath ceremony after the President’s Bodyguards sang the national anthem.
The swearing-in event was attended by the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governors, Chief Ministers, heads of diplomatic missions, MPs, and senior civil and military leaders.
The 64-year-old wrote history on July 21 when she was elected to the nation’s highest constitutional position, making Murmu the first tribal leader to do so. She is the first President to be born following Independence and is the youngest till now. She is the second woman to hold the office of President.
