The Hindu : Modi begins second stint as CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 23, 2002

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Modi begins second stint as CM

By Manas Dasgupta

Narendra Modi seeking the blessing of the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, after he was sworn in Chief Minister in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Looking on is the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani. — PTI

AHMEDABAD Dec. 22. Narendra Modi began his second stint as the Gujarat Chief Minister with the swearing in of a 16-member two-tier Ministry today in the presence of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and a host of other dignitaries.

Besides Mr. Modi, nine Ministers of Cabinet rank and six Ministers of State took the oath of office and secrecy at the Sardar Patel sports complex here, with about a lakh of saffron-clad BJP enthusiasts cheering the third consecutive victory of the party.

The Congress boycotted the ceremony on grounds of extravaganza when the State was passing through a financial crisis. A Congress spokesman said crores of rupees from the State Exchequer had been squandered away in organising the "grand show''.

Outside the stadium, it was total chaos with the BJP supporters elbowing their way into the complex, throwing the entire security system haywire. As thousands thronged the venue, police were unable to put everyone through the security check as planned.

At the end of the ceremony that lasted about 10 minutes, Mr. Modi flanked by the party's national president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, and the State president, Rajendrasinh Rana, took a "victory lap" in an open jeep in the stadium. Before embarking on the open jeep, Mr. Modi and his Cabinet colleagues took blessings from Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani and others as well as a host of "sadhus and sants" invited on the occasion.

Among the dignitaries present were the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Union Human Resources Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, the Haryana Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, the Jharkhand Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, the party general secretary, Arun Jaitley, and some popular Hindi film stars. The former Punjab police chief, K.P.S. Gill, who briefly served as the security adviser to Mr. Modi during the riots, was also present.

The Governor, Sunder Singh Bhandari, administered the oath of office to Mr. Modi and his 15 Ministers. It was perhaps the first occasion that the Prime Minister was present on the dais when the Governor arrived. Among the 15 Ministers sworn in, one of Cabinet rank and four Ministers of State were new faces. Vajubhai Vala, who had vacated his seat to enable Mr. Modi to contest the byelection from Rajkot-II earlier this year, was rewarded with a Cabinet berth and the number two position after the Chief Minister.

Ashok Bhatt, Narottam Patel, Anandiben Patel, Kaushik Patel, I.K. Jadeja, Ramanlal Vora, and Manugubhai Patel, have served in the outgoing Modi Cabinet, while Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, chairman of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Development Corporation, would be a new face in the Cabinet.

Among the Ministers of State, Mr. Modi has inducted his close confidant, Amit Shah, chairman of the Ahmedabad district co-operative bank, in the Cabinet. The portfolios to the Ministers are expected to be allocated at the first Cabinet meeting to be held tomorrow before Mr. Modi leaves for Delhi to attend the BJP national executive meeting.

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