New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday was sworn-in as the 14th President of India, a day after outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee’s five-year term ended. Kovind was administered the oath of office of President of India by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar.
Kovind, 71, was nominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. He defeated Opposition candidate and former Speaker Meira Kumar last week, securing over 65% votes in the electoral college.
A lawyer by qualification, Kovind will be the country’s second Dalit President after K.R. Narayanan. Prior to his election as Indian Republic’s first citizen, Kovind served as the governor of Bihar and as a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha serving in various parliamentary committees.
Here are the latest updates and developments on Ram Nath Kovind’s swearing-in ceremony:
■ Swearing in ceremony ends with the National Anthem played at the end and a 21-gun salute.
■ Main highlights of President Kovind’s maiden address are:
– I enter this office with all humility and coming back to the Central Hall brings back sweet memories.
– The beauty of democracy is that it teaches us to respect disagreements. We are diverse, yet united and one.
– Every Indian is contributing to nation building. Every soldier who guards our borders, every farmer who works in the field, every scientist, every doctor, every entrepreneur who is building a start-up are national builder.
– India of our dreams will provide equality of opportunity to all.
