Modi oath ceremony updates: Indian PM makes history with third term

After 72 ministers were sworn in by the president, the national anthem was played to officially close the event.

The anthem was followed by a group photograph of the president and the new ministers.

India’s economy grew by 8.2 percent in the last fiscal year, one of the fastest rates among major economies, but voters have pointed to disparities on the ground, with growth more visible in cities than in the vast hinterland.

The economy has jumped five places to be the fifth-largest in the world in the past decade under Narendra Modi’s rule, and he has said he will lift it to the third position. But the country’s per capita income still remains the lowest among Group of 20 (G20) nations.

Nevertheless, S&P Global Ratings in late May raised India’s sovereign rating outlook to “positive” from “stable” while retaining the rating at “BBB-“, saying the country’s robust economic expansion was having a constructive impact on its credit metrics.

“The middle class is the driving force of the country,” Modi said at an alliance meeting on Friday. “In the coming days, we will work on increasing middle-class savings, improving their quality of life, and seeing what needs to be changed in our rules to achieve that.”

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has congratulated Modi on securing a third term in office, saying the Indian prime minister had “strengthened India’s position as a source of innovation for global progress”.

“In sectors like health, agriculture, women-led development, and digital transformation. Look forward to a continued partnership to enhance the lives of people across India and the world,” the billionaire posted.

Congratulations to @narendramodi on winning a third term as Prime Minister. You have strengthened India's position as a source of innovation for global progress in sectors like health, agriculture, women-led development, and digital transformation. Look forward to a continued…

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) June 9, 2024

As Narendra Modi’s ministers took their oaths to uphold the constitution, repeated chants of “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram) were raised by the crowd gathered on the lawns of the presidential residence in New Delhi.

“Jai Shri Ram” has emerged as the rallying cry of right-wing Hindus in their supremacist campaign against India’s Muslim and Christian minorities. Ram is the main deity of India’s Hindu groups, whose temple in Ayodhya town was inaugurated by Modi in January.

The temple has been built on the ruins of a 16th-century mosque that was demolished in 1992 by a Hindu mob. Hindu groups claim the Mughal-era mosque was built on the exact site where Ram was born.

With Modi yet to announce his new cabinet, the line of lawmakers taking the oath of office is being keenly watched as an indication of who will be in government.

Tenth to take the oath, and first among the BJP’s coalition members, was HD Kumaraswamy from the Janata Dal (Secular) party, based in the southern state of Karnataka. Kumaraswamy has been a former chief minister of the state.

Larger coalition parties have demanded hefty concessions in exchange for their support.

Other coalition leaders who took the oath included Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is the largest BJP ally with 16 seats, and which India media reports has extracted four cabinet positions.

Also taking the oath was Rajiv Ranjan Singh, from the BJP’s next-biggest ally the Janata Dal (United) with 12 seats, which has reportedly two minister posts.

The seeds of Modi’s political destiny were sown at the age of eight when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right nationalist group that aims to turn a constitutionally secular India into an ethnic Hindu state.

Modi dedicated himself to its cause of promoting Hindu supremacy, even walking out of his arranged marriage soon after his wedding at age 18. Remaining with his wife – whom he never officially divorced – would have hampered his advancement through the ranks of the RSS, which expected senior cadres to stay celibate.

The RSS groomed Modi for a career in its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which grew into a major force through the 1990s.

He was appointed chief minister of Gujarat in 2001, but the state was rocked by anti-Muslim riots the following year, sparked by a fire that killed dozens of Hindu pilgrims inside a passenger train. At least 1,000 people died in the violence, most of them Muslims.

The former chief ministers of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Assam states have taken oath as ministers so far.

Jitan Ram Manjhi is a BJP ally from Bihar. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been a four-time BJP chief minister of the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Manohar Lal Khattar led the northern state of Haryana, while Sarbananda Sonowal has served as the chief minister of the northeastern Assam state.

Senior BJP ministers Rajnath Singh (Uttar Pradesh) and Modi himself (Gujarat) have been former chief ministers.

Jagat Prakash Nadda, the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been sworn in as a cabinet minister for the first time.

It is not clear whether he will continue as the right-wing party’s president.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term after worse-than-expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern.

Modi, flanked by officials from his Hindu-nationalist party and leaders of his coalition partners, vowed to protect India’s constitution.

#WATCH | Narendra Modi takes oath for the third consecutive term as the Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/LA1z6QF7iX

— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2024

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are attending the swearing-in ceremony.

Leaders from neighbouring Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives are also present.

#WATCH | Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives at Rashtrapati Bhavan to attend the oath ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/gKDihmth4A

— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2024