LIVE | Modi sworn in as PM for 3rd term; 5 allies get a Cabinet berth each
Preps ahead of swearing-in ceremony
Vehicles move past a banner of Prime Minister-Designate Narendra Modi ahead of his swearing-in ceremony as PM for the third consecutive term, in New Delhi, Sunday, June 9, 2024. Image: PTI
Inclusion in Modi’s council of ministers means BJP getting respect in Telugu states: Srinivasa Varma
Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency winner B Srinivasa Varma on Sunday said the decision by Narendra Modi to include him in his council of ministers is synonymous with the BJP receiving respect in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Varma, who defeated YSRCP’s G Umabala by a margin of 2.7 lakh votes, is poised to be sworn in as a union minister on Sunday.
“Modi including me in his council of ministers is synonymous with the BJP receiving respect in the Telugu states,” said Varma, talking to reporters in New Delhi, accompanied by Telangana BJP chief Kishan Reddy and others.
According to the newly-elected MP, the saffron party gives "an opportunity to every activist", and he thanked all the activists who worked towards his victory.
Gadkari meets Fadnavis
Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari met party colleague Devendra Fadnavis at his residence, in New Delhi, Sunday, June 9, 2024.
Special invitees construction workers wait for swearing-in
Twenty-eight years old Angad Kumar Paswan is still in disbelief that he has been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi and the new cabinet of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday evening.
His joy has kept him awake for the past two nights. "I am still not able to believe that I would be witnessing the grand oath taking ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan," Paswan, a native of Garhwa District in Jharkhand, said as he held the invitation card close to his chest like a prized possession.
Paswan is among the nearly 90 construction workers working on the Central Vista redevelopment project who would be special invitees for the Modi 3.0 swearing-in ceremony. Besides, 30 sanitation workers from MCD and some government hospitals also have been invited.
All of them gathered at the residence of the former Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for high tea before the ceremony.
The workers said they were touched by the gesture.
NCP missed out for insisting on cabinet berth: Fadnavis
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party wanted a cabinet berth in the Narendra Modi government and declined an offer from the BJP of minister of state (MoS) with independent charge.
"We had offered one berth of minister with independent charge to the NCP but it was insistent that (Rajya Sabha MP) Praful Patel's name be finalised. Due to his (Patel's) experience, the NCP believed he could not be made MoS with independent charge," he said.
"In a coalition government, a formula has to be drawn, which cannot be broken for one party. I can confidently say whenever cabinet expansion takes place, the (Union) government will consider the NCP. We did try to include NCP right now, but they insisted on cabinet portfolio," the senior BJP leader asserted.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, part of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra along with the BJP and the Shiv Sena, performed poorly in the Lok Sabha polls, managing to win just one seat (Raigad) from the four it contested. It also lost the prestige battle in Baramati, where Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar was trounced by sitting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule.