Droupadi Murmu to take oath today as India’s 15th President

Droupadi Murmu, the newly elected Indian President will take her oath today. The ceremony will take place in the Central Hall of the Parliament. July 24 was the last day of former President Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure. 

Murmu is the 15th and the first tribal leader to be elected to the role of the President. On July 21, the 64-year-old defeated Opposition’s candidate Yashwant Sinha to become the youngest President of the country. 

The oath taking ceremony will take place in the presence of  Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. 

Murmu is scheduled to reach Rajghat at around 8:30 am. From there she will head to the Rashtrapati Bhawan at around 9:22 am. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Vice-President Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will escort the new President to the Central Hall. 

The swearing-in ceremony will start at 10:15 am. CJI Ramana will administer her oath, following which she will sign the Oath Register. 

President Droupadi Murmu will deliver her first address from the Central Hall at 10:23 am. After that she will return to the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a ceremonial procession by 10:57 am. 

The Ceremonial function planned in the Forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan will not be conducted if it rains. If it doesn’t then the function will be conducted around 9:42 am. 

Process of counting of votes to declare the next President began on Thursday morning. Out of a total 736 electors, 728 (719 MPs and 9 MLAs) cast their votes, amounting to 99.18 per cent voter turnout, according to Rajya Sabha Secretary General and returning officer PC Mody. As per the Election Commission of India, 100 per cent voting was recorded from CG, Manipur, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, MP, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Mizoram and Sikkim.

Sinha, who lost to Murmu in the Presidential elections, said that he hopes that she functions as the "custodian of the Constitution" without fear or favour. "I also thank all members of the Electoral College who voted for me. I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga preached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita -- 'Do your duty without expectation of the fruits thereof'. I have performed my duty conscientiously out of my love for my country. The issues I had raised during my campaign remain pertinent," he said.

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