BJP cadres chant 'Modi, Modi' at Yeddyurappa's swearing-in

Loud chants of "Modi, Modi" by about 100 jubilant cadres of the BJP were heard at the oath-taking ceremony of their leader B.S. Yeddyurappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at Raj Bhavan here on Thursday.

Even as Yeddyurappa was signing the relevant papers after taking oath in Kannada, administered by Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, the "Modi, Modi" chants reverberated across the 'Glass House' in the green lawns of Raj Bhavan in the city centre.

Excited over Yeddyurappa, 75, becoming Chief Minister for the third time, celebrations broke out in front of Raj Bhavan, at the party's office in the city's northwest suburb and many districts across the southern state.

Sporting a green shawl, symbolising solidarity with farmers in the state, Yeddyurappa took the oath in the name of god and farmers.

Among the party's national and state leaders present at the simple swearing-in ceremony were Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, J.P. Nadda, D.V. Sadanda Gowda and Ananth Kumar and Lok Sabha lawmakers from the state Prahlad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje.

Though Yeddyurappa was seen smiling and waving the victory, he did not speak to the media on the occasion but headed to the state's secretariat in the nearby Vidhana Soudha building that also houses the state legislature.

The BJP leader, who was invited by the Governor on Wednesday to take oath as the Chief Minister and form the government, was directed to prove his majority on the floor of the House within 15 days of assuming office.

"We will get the support and prove our majority on the floor of the House," a confident Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

Sadanand Gowda called it an end of dictatorship as Yeddyurappa took the oath as the 23rd Chief Minister of the state.

"Though the power hungry JD-S (Janata Dal-Secular) and Congress tried to stop the mass leader BSY (B.S.Yeddyurappa) from becoming CM, people of Karnataka held hand of BSY tight. Dictatorship is over now. It's the people's government in Karnataka," Gowda tweeted.

--IANS

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