Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India’s 15th President in the Central Hall of Parliament on Monday. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the ceremony was attended by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, members of the Council of Ministers, state Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament, and principal civil and military officers of the government of India.
At a ceremony held in the parliament’s Central Hall, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath of office to the new president.
On Monday, outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind took his successor Droupadi Murmu in a presidential limousine from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to Parliament House for the oath-taking ceremony. President Kovind and President-elect Murmu went down the Rashtrapati Bhawan’s 31 stately steps to the saluting dais, where they took the presidential salute.
The president’s bodyguards sang the national anthem before the two were carried in the presidential limousine out of the Rashtrapati Bhawan via the iron gates and towards Parliament House for the formal swearing-in event.
The President was given a national salute by the President’s bodyguards on the steps of Parliament House’s Gate No. 5, with the President-elect standing by his side. They were accompanied by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
President Murmu addressed the nation shortly after taking the oath that the trust and support of the people were her greatest strengths.
“Johar! Namaskar! I humbly greet all my fellow citizens from this sacred Parliament, which represents the hopes, aspirations, and rights of all Indian citizens. Your affection, trust, and support will be my greatest strength in discharging my duties and responsibilities.”
Hon’ble President Droupadi Murmu
Following the ceremony, the President proceeded to Rashtrapati Bhavan, where she was greeted by an Inter-Services Guard of Honour in the forecourt and courtesies were made to the outgoing President.
Droupadi Murmu, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was formally declared the country’s 15th President following the completion of vote counting on Thursday. President Ram Nath Kovind’s term expired on Sunday.
Murmu is the first tribal person and only the second woman to hold the country’s highest constitutional position. Murmu was Jharkhand’s first female governor, serving from 2015 until 2021.
Droupadi Murmu, who was born into a poverty stricken tribal family in a village in Mayurbhanj, a backward region in Odisha, completed her studies despite difficult conditions. She taught at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in Rairangpur.
Murmu received 2,824 votes with a value of 6,76,803, while her opponent, Yashwant Sinha, received 1,877 votes with a value of 3,80,177. In the polls on July 18, a total of 4,809 MPs and MLAs voted.