The ceremony to induct 19 new Ministers and the promotion of Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar to Cabinet rank ran for less than 45 minutes but it had its moments.
Mr. Javadekar, the only Minister in Mr. Modi’s Council of Ministers to be promoted from holding independent charge to being a Cabinet Minister, was in Berlin when he received the all-important phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was to return to New Delhi on July 6, 2016 but was asked to cut short his trip and make it to the ceremony. There were no direct flights from Berlin to New Delhi and he figured he would only be back by 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning to which Mr. Modi said that he had better ensure the flight was on time. By some jugglery a shorter flight via Abu Dhabi was arranged for the Minister to land in New Delhi at 5 a.m.
What’s in a name
If Javadekar’s tense moments were before the swearing in, his new colleague and Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale had them during the swearing in. He forgot to say his name at the beginning of the oath of office and secrecy and was prompted by President Pranab Mukherjee more than once to complete the oath.
Constitution as the holy book
Of the 20 people who took oath on Tuesday, Mr. Athawale and Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal (both sworn in as Ministers of State) took the oath in the name of the Constitution rather than god. That choice, another new Minister M.J. Akbar said, was offered to Ministers before taking oath.
Friendship and showing respect to seniors are not forgotten by some in the political world. Darjeeling MP S.S. Ahluwalia demonstrated that after taking oath as Minister. He touched President Pranab Mukherjee’s feet and took blessings from him, harking back to their days in the Congress. Mr. Ahluwalia was a Minister in the Narasimha Rao government.
