Singh sworn in as India's PM
Saturday 22 May 2004, 16:47 Makka Time, 13:47 GMT
Manmohan Singh is the first non-Hindu PM in India
Manmohan Singh has been sworn in as prime minister of India by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to head a Congress party-led government.
Singh read and signed an oath on Saturday in the presence of Kalam, the ceremonial head of state. Members of the incoming cabinet followed Singh by taking their oaths. Their portfolios were to be announced later.
Other cabinet ministers who were among the first to be sworn in included Congress veteran Arjun Singh, former defence minister Sharad Pawar and former Bihar state chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.
Outgoing prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, whose Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance was defeated in the election, smiled and shook Singh's hand before the handover of power.
Singh, after signing his oath, folded his hands in a traditional
greeting to Kalam and then to a beaming Sonia Gandhi, the
Italian-born chief of the Congress party who declined to become prime minister...>
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/35F5EA2A-1250-4ABD-B988-818C4FBA3FAB.htm___________
From Times of India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/692105.cmsManmohan takes oath as India's PM
IANS< SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2004 07:18:05 PM >
NEW DELHI: Manmohan Singh was Saturday sworn in as India's 13th prime minister at the head of a Congress-led coalition government, heralding another smooth transition of power in the world's largest democracy.
President APJ Abdul Kalam administered the oath of office and secrecy to Singh, 71, at the ceremonial Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Dressed in spotless white kurta and regulation blue turban, the Oxford-educated Singh, a former finance minister, took his oath in English.
..snip..
The Congress party returns to power after eight years but at the head of a coalition government for the first time.
Other outgoing ministers present swearing in included Vajpayee's deputy L K Advani, seated right next to Narasimha Rao and two seats from Sonia Gandhi. A total of 68 ministers were expected to be sworn in along with Manmohan Singh.
As the finance minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government between 1991 and 1996, Manmohan Singh not only put India on the map of the world's attractive investment destinations but also brought about a fundamental change in the way India Inc. conducted its business.
As the new prime minister, the soft-spoken, internationally acknowledged economist has vowed reforms with a human face.