Do not touch my feet, PM Modi tells his admirers
NEW DELHI: It was a swearingin ceremony with a difference. Nineteen of 21 new ministers took the oath in Hindi in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first expansion of the council of ministers on Sunday, a dramatic change from the UPA regime when most leaders preferred to speak in English.
But the thrust on Hindi was just one of the many changes from earlier ceremonies. Modi walked freely among guests and chatted with them, but refrained from talking about the reshuffle — something his predecessor Manmohan Singh did on every occasion.
“Do not touch my feet,” was Modi’s polite but firm message to people who rushed to seek his blessings.
He preferred a handshake instead, unlike the past when ministers bowed down in front of the Prime Minister and party chief, some even touching their feet.
PM NARENDRA MODI WALKED FREELY AMONG GUESTS AND CHATTED WITH THEM, BUT REFRAINED FROM TALKING ABOUT THE RESHUFFLE
Most of the ministers were dressed in traditional kurtapyjamas while the lone woman minister, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, the BJ PMP from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, stood out in her bright saffron robes.
BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani, who came minutes before the prime minister entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s historic Durbar Hall, was ushered to a front row seat.
He sat next to Amit Shah and close to Modi, who appointed four new cabinet ministers, three ministers of state with independent charge and 14 ministers of state in the first expansion of his council of minister since stor ming to power in May.
While opposition leaders were conspicuous by their absence, some NDA chief ministers — Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, Raman Singh of Chhattisg arh and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis — arrived early.
Before the prime minister stepped in, BJP president Amit Shah was clearly the centre of attraction with ministers, other guests and even some Rashtrapati Bhavan officials reaching out to shake hands or talk to him.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had a long chat with his party chief.
Senior ministers like Venkaiah Naidu, Kalraj Mishra, Ramvilas Paswan and Nitin Gadkari were present. HRD minister Smriti Irani, however, could not attend because of an official engagement in Mumbai.