The prime minister had a brief courtesy meeting with Modi after the latter’s swearing-in. Indian government invited leaders from India’s neighbourhood, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (1st left), to witness the event. Photo: Courtesy of MEA india
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal attended the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evening.
Indian President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi for the third term amid a special function organised at the Rastrapati Bhawan of India.
Dahal had a brief courtesy meeting with Modi after the latter’s swearing-in.
The Indian government invited leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region to witness the ceremony as distinguished guests.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe; Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu; Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina; Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, among other dignitaries, attended the event. But leaders from Pakistan and China were not invited.
Newly appointed ministers of India were also administered the oath subsequently after the prime minister’s swearing in.
Prime Minister Dahal left for India on Sunday to attend the ceremony.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Dev Raj Ghimire, National Assembly chair Narayan Dahal, Deputy Prime Ministers Raghubir Mahaseth and Narayan Kaji Shrestha and other high-ranking government officials saw off the prime minister at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
The prime minister is accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal, Head of South Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bhrigu Dhungana, Chief of Protocol Bishnu Prasad Gautam, Protocol Officer Prabin Bhattarai and three security personnel of the prime minister.
A Cabinet meeting on Friday decided the delegation.
Nepali Ambassador to New Delhi Shankar Sharma and Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy, Surendra Thapa joined the prime minister’s delegation from New Delhi at the oath ceremony.
Modi has assumed office as prime minister for a third consecutive term as the BJP-led NDA secured 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. In the 543-strong lower house of the Indian parliament, 272 is the minimum majority figure. Modi is the second Indian leader to win a third term after founding prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
President Ramchandra Paudel assigned Deputy Prime Minister Raghubir Mahaseth the responsibility of overseeing the prime minister’s day-to-day administration in his absence.
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