Oath-taking ceremony tomorrow
NEW DELHI, June 7: Narendra Modi will take oath as the prime minister for a third consecutive term on Sunday evening as President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form the government.
Murmu appointed Modi as the Prime Minister-designate on Friday after BJP president JP Nadda handed her a letter on Modi’s election as the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party and NDA leaders submitted their letters of support.
The BJP won 240 seats in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, falling short of the halfway mark in the 543-member House, but the NDA together won 293 seats, which is a comfortable majority.
“The President, having satisfied herself on the basis of the various letters of support received, that the BJP-led NDA alliance, which is also the largest pre-election alliance, is in a position to command majority support of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha and to form a stable government, appointed Shri Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India, exercising powers vested in her under Article 75(1) of the Constitution of India,” according to a communiqué from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The president will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at 7:15 pm on Sunday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the communiqué said.
Murmu handed over the letter of appointment to Modi, who called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Friday evening.
Earlier, leaders of the BJP-led NDA called on Murmu and handed their letters of support for Modi to her.
Addressing reporters in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi said he has been appointed as the prime minister-designate by the president.
“The President has asked me to work as the prime minister-designate and informed me about the oath ceremony,” he said and added that he has informed Murmu that they will be comfortable if the event is held on Sunday evening.
“This 18th Lok Sabha is an important milestone towards fulfilling those dreams when the country will celebrate 100 years of independence in 2047,” he said.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is likely to begin around June 15, sources said on Friday.
The first session will commence with the oath-taking by the newly elected candidates as members of the House. (PTI)
