Murmu takes oath as India’s 15th President
Droupadi Murmu took oath as India’s 15th President on Monday, the first from a tribal community to rise as the commander-in-chief and underlined that her elevation to the highest constitutional office showed the power of democracy and that the poor can also dream and make them come true.
In her address soon after being administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana in the Central Hall of Parliament, President Murmu said her journey from a tribal village in Odisha to the highest constitutional office of the country shows the power of democracy and underlined that this wasn’t her personal achievement but that of every poor Indian.
“I come from a poor tribal village in Odisha where getting even basic education was a dream. But in spite of the obstacles I remained steadfast and became the first person in my village to go to college,” she said.
President Murmu, who began her address with the traditional salutation Johar, said, “I am from an ST (scheduled tribe) community and got the opportunities, from becoming a ward councillor to President. It shows the greatness of India’s democracy. It is the power of democracy that a woman born in a poor family in a remote village has reached the highest constitutional office in the country,” she said.
Murmu, who contested the presidential election as a candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, was elected on July 21 with 64.3% votes against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
“My election is proof that the poor in India can dream and make their dreams come true. It is a matter of great satisfaction for me that those who have been deprived for centuries, who have been away from the benefits of development, the poor, the downtrodden, the backward and the tribals can see their reflection in me,” she said, thanking lawmakers for their support.
She said she felt proud to lead a country where the youth have the courage to break away from
the old rut. “Today I assure all the countrymen, especially the youth and women of India that while working in this position, their interest will be of paramount importance to me,” she said.
Murmu, who is the first President to be born after Independence, said she has been elected as President at a crucial time with the country is celebrating the 75th year of its independence.
Murmu, who started out as a school teacher before switching to politics, said it was a coincidence that she began her political journey when the country was celebrating its 50th year of independence.
“… And today in the 75th year of independence, I have got this new responsibility,” she said. Murmu described it as a great privilege that she was given this responsibility at a historic time when India is gearing up to achieve the vision of the next 25 years.
“We have to work at a fast pace in this Amrit Kal to fulfil the dreams that our freedom fighters had. In these 25 years the path to the accomplishment of these dreams will proceed on two tracks- sabka prayas aur sabka kartavya (everyone’s effort and everyone’s duty),” she said.
Murmu said she has experienced the meaning of public service through her work and quoted lines from a poem by Bheem Bhoi, an eminent poet of Jagannath Kshetra, to stress that work has to be done for the welfare of the world instead of working for one’s own interest.
Before the oath ceremony, she arrived in Parliament accompanied by the outgoing President Ramnath Kovind and was received by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla and the CJI. Before arriving in Rashtrapati Bhavan she paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat