New Delhi, June 9: Narendra Modi took oath on Sunday as the Prime Minister for a third consecutive time, equalling Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s feat in a grand ceremony on the fore court of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on a sweltering hot summer evening.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 74 year old leader, who first took over as Prime Minister in 2014.

Modi took the oath in the name of God, to loud cheers from the large number of guests which included the leaders of several foreign countries.

Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, J P Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nirmala Sitharaman also took oath as cabinet ministers in the new government as over 8,000 guests sat witness which included dignitaries from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region, including Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Sri Lanka’s Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Besides business tycoons, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, from the Opposition INDIA bloc’s Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge were also present alongside Bollywood’s Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan, and Khiladi Akshay Kumar.

Earlier in the day, the newly-elected Members of Parliament from the NDA had gathered at Modi’s residence, many of whom will also be taking oath.

UNI