PM Narendra Modi`s first message: `Together we will script a glorious future for India`

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar 7:40 pm The official website of the Prime Minister of India has the following message from Narendra Modi:

"My dear fellow Indians and citizens of the world,

Namaste!

A very warm welcome to the official website of the Prime Minister of India.

On 16th May 2014 the people of India gave their verdict. They delivered a mandate for development, good governance and stability. As we devote ourselves to take India`s development journey to newer heights, we seek your support, blessings and active participation. Together we will script a glorious future for India. Let us together dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development.

I envision this website as a very important medium of direct communication between us. I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world. I hope this platform creates opportunities to listen, learn and share one`s views.

Through this website you will also get all the latest information about my speeches, schedules, foreign visits and lot more. I will also keep informing you about innovative initiatives undertaken by the Government of India."

7:30 pm GM Siddeshwara, Manoj Sinha, Nihal Chand, Upendra Kushwaha, Pon Radhakrishnan, Kiren Rijiju, Krishan Pal Gujjar, Dr Sanjeev Baliyan, Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasav, Rao Saheb Danve,Vishnu Deo Sai, Sudarshan Bhagat take oath as Ministers of State.

7:10 pm Gen (Retd) VK Singh, Rao Inderjit Singh, Santosh Gangwar, Shripad Naik, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sarbananda Sonowal, Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goel, Dr Jitendra Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman take oath as Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

6:55 pm Radha Mohan Singh, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Smriti Irani, Dr Harsh Vardhan also take oath to cabinet ministers.

6:45 pm Uma Bharti, Najma Heptullah,, Gopinath Munde, Ramvilas Paswan, Kalraj Mishra, Maneka Gandhi, Ananth Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Anant Geete, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Jual Oram also took oath as cabinet ministers.

6:25 pm Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, DV Sadananda Gowda take oath as cabinet ministers.

6:17 pm Sushma Swaraj takes oath.

6:15 pm BJP president Rajnath Singh takes oath of office and secrecy after Narendra Modi.

6:12 pm Narendra Modi takes oath of office and secrecy as India`s 15th Prime Minister. He took the oath in in Hindi.

English translation: I, Narendra Damodardas Modi, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister for the Union and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

I, Narendra Damodardas Modi, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as prime minister for the Union except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister. 6:07 pm President Pranab Mukherjee arrives to administer oath of office to Narendra Modi and other members of union council of ministers. 5:58 pm Narendra Modi arrives to take oath as Prime Minister. 5:46 pm Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives. Seated next to Dr Manmohan Singh. 5:45 pm Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jiatley and other members of the Modi cabinet take their seats ahead of being sworn-in 5:30 pm Narendra Modi`s mother Hiraba is watching proceedings on TV from home. 5:20 pm LK Advani reaches Rashtrapati Bhavan along with his daughter Pratibha.

5:15 pm NCP boss Sharad Pawar, RSS` Ram Madhav, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shiv Sena`s Uddhav Thackeray, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu arrive.

5:10 pm Guests have started to arrive for the swearing-in of Narendra Modi and the union council of ministers. Among those present are Reliance boss Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita.

4:50 pm Lata Mangeshkar and Rajinikanth to skip Modi`s oath taking ceremony.

4:45 Latest reports claim that Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has told MPs from the state to wait for cabinet expansion and not press for berths in the Modi cabinet at this juncture. 4:37 pm Narendra Modi welcomes those who would attend swearing-in ceremony. He tweeted:

I am glad & honoured that people from all walks of life will join the swearing in ceremony. I welcome them.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2014

A big thank you to all friends who will be viewing the ceremony on TV and through social media. Your constant support & blessings mean a lot— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2014

4:16 pm Hrithik Roshan and Rakesh Roshan arrive in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony

4:15 pm First sign of rebellion in BJP over Modi cabinet. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is meeting 25 MPs from Rajasthan amid reports that they are unhappy for being ignored for representation in the union cabinet.

2:55 pm Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony today evening can not only be watched on television screens but can also be heard live on mobile and landline phones.

Read: Narendra Modi`s swearing-in to be available live on phone

2:30 pm Bollywood megatsar Salman Khan in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in. 2:08 pm Maldives President Abdulla Yameen arrives in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony.

2:05 pm Nawaz Sharif`s son Hussain says, “We have very high expectations, hope he will live up to it.” 1:25 pm UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and West Bengal Minister Amit Mitra arrive in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony.

1:10 pm “Yes, I am the sole minister from Shiv Sena in the cabinet, more will be inducted after cabinet expansion in a month,” says Anant Geete of Shiv Sena.

1 pm Narendra Modi is all set to take oath as India`s 15th Prime Minister at 6 pm today along with 24 Cabinet Ministers, 10 Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 11 Ministers of State.

12:50 pm Nitish Kumar congratulates Narendra Modi. “I congratulate Narendra Modi. I hope we will get the packages that we have requested for Bihar,” he said. 12:45 pm Delhi Police detains MDMK chief Vaiko while he was protesting at Jantar Mantar against Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa`s visit to India. 12:43 pm Salman`s father Salim Khan and brother Sohail Khan leave for Delhi from Mumbai to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in. 12:20 pm Protests in Chennai against Srilankan President Mahinda Rajapakse`s visit to Delhi

12:15 pm Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray leaves Mumbai for Delhi. He will attend Modi`s swearing-in despite opposition to the invite to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

11:50 pm Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived at the technical Air Force base in Palam in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. He is accompanied among others by his wife Kulsoom Nawaz and his son Hussain Nawaz.

Before his departure, the Pakistan Prime Minister told reporters in Lahore that “Pakistan wants good relations with India and I am going to New Delhi with a message of peace”.

Guest list

Heads of the government of eight countries, all 777 MPs of both Houses, the outgoing PM and his council of ministers, all Governors, CMs, ambassadors and other constitutional authorities like the Chief Justice of India are among those who will attend the event.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi will also be attending.

Pakistan Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maurituis Prime Minister Naveen Ramgoolam have arrived. Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Shirin Chaudhury is presenting her country as Premier Sheikh Hasina is on a visit to Japan This is the first time that the heads of states of SAARC nations have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of an Indian Prime Minister.

Envoys of almost all the countries having embassies in Delhi, have been invited for the function.

The BJP Overseas Affairs an arm of the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that maintains contact with people and political parties abroad has also invited around 90 people to the swearing-in.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev, celebrities such as Rajinikanth, Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Pawan Kalyan, Suresh Gopi are also part of the guest list.

India Inc will also be represented in strength with Anil Ambani,Gautam Adani, Sunil Mittal, Prashant Ruia, Pawan Munjal, Ajay Sriram, Hari Bhartia and AM Naik expected to attend the grand celebrations.

Admen Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi and over 300 mediapersons will also witness the swearing-in ceremony.

Venue

Given the large number of guests (approx 4000), Modi has chosen the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt as the venue for the swearing-in ceremony. Generally, the swearing-in is held at the historic Durbar Hall of the Parliament, the only two previous instances when it was held in the forecourt were in 1990 when Chandrashekhar became PM and in 1998, when Atal Bhari Vajpayee was sworn in as PM of the BJP-led NDA government. However, the number of guests was far lesser than what is expected today.

Earlier called the Viceroy`s court, the forecourt leads to the thirty-one broad steps which lead to the portico of the Rashtrapatu Bhavan where stands the Bull Capital of an Ashoka Pillar. The bull has the pronounced zebu hump of the cattle in India but has no horns.

The animal stands on a decorated band resting on an inverted lotus and the entire capital has been carved out of the same rock as the rest of the pillar. In the middle of the foreground, facing the forecourt steps of Rashtrapati Bhavan, stands the Jaipur Column at a height of 146 feet. Placed on top of the Column is the Star of India. This column was presented by Major-General His Highness Sir Sewai Madho Singh Maharaj of Jaipur to commemorate the creation of the new Capital of Delhi.

The first stone of the Column was laid by King George V and his consort, Queen Mary on 15th December, 1911. Its East wall has a map of Delhi as then envisaged, carved into it.

The column bears the following inscription: "In thought faith In word wisdom In deed courage In life service So may India be great."

Austere menu for the guests

A variety of snacks, including moong dal kachoris, dhokla, cucumber sandwiches, cookies, dhokla, rasgulla,imarti, patties, sandwiches, tea, coffee would be served to the guests at the swearing-in ceremony.

President Pranab Mukherjee will host a private dinner for Saarc leaders and Modi and his council of ministers in the Grey Room of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The dinner menu: prawn stew, chicken chettinad, Jaipuri bhindi, dal makhni, steamed rice and assorted Indian breads. Mango shrikhand, pineapple halwa, sandesh and cut fruits will be part of the dessert menu.

Security

Massive ground-to-air security arrangements have been made for Narendra Modi`s swearing-in. The area around Rashtrapati Bhavan and other areas in Lutyen`s Delhi have been turned into a fortress. While the Delhi Police is primarily responsible for providing security cover, special teams commandos and paramilitary forces are also included among over 7000 personnel on duty.

Two unmanned aerial vehicles `drones` will hover over the Rashtrapati Bhavan accompanied by anti-aircraft guns on ground. The security arrangements are on the lines of Republic Day with the Army, Air Force and other intelligence agencies assisting the Delhi Police.