Modi to take oath with new ministers on May 30

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be administered oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30, the President's Office said Sunday.

President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 pm, an official communique said.

Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for the second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

From BJP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also elected as a prime minister for two consecutive terms, but his first stint had lasted only for one year and seven months.

"The President (Ram Nath Kovind) will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of Union Council of Ministers on 30.05.2019 at 07.00 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan," the communiuqe issued by President's press secretary Ashok Malik said.

Names of the ministers who would join Modi in his second innings is yet to be disclosed, though there has been speculation about some new members expected to join the council, including from states like West Bengal that played a key role in the BJP's massive victory in the just-held Lok Sabha elections.

It was also not immediately clear whether the ceremony will be attended by some world leaders. Modi had stunned everyone during 2014 swearing-in when he had called SAARC leaders, including the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.

The 2014 swearing-in was held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan with around 2,000 people including foreign dignitaries invited for Modi's oath ceremony, which was administered by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.

Several global leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have congratulated Modi on his resounding victory.

On Sunday, Khan spoke to Modi and expressed his desire for both the countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples, the Pakistani Foreign Office said.

Khan reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives.

Modi has been elected unanimously as leader of the National Democratic Alliance after which he called on President Kovind on Saturday in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the House of the People following the general election to the 17th Lok Sabha.

The President, exercising powers under the Constitution, appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India and sought his advice about names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Earlier on Saturday, an NDA delegation, led by BJP president Amit Shah and comprising of Parkash Singh Badal, Rajnath Singh, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thakeray, Nitin Gadkari, K. Palaniswami, Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio also called on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

They handed over a letter stating Modi has been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. The letters of support from the NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President.

NDA together has a strength of 353 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, out of which BJP has a majority of 303 Members of Parliament. This is the highest every tally for the BJP, which had got just two MPs in its Lok Sabha electoral debut in 1984.