New Delhi: The ornate Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday reverberated with joy as 22 new ministers were inducted into the central government.
Shashi Tharoor, who made a comeback in the government, was seen greeted by one and many as he and his wife Sunanda Pushkar gracefully acknowledged the greetings.
Pushkar was also seen chatting with National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon among others before the swearing-in ceremony and clicked pictures using her mobile phone as Tharoor walked up to the podium to take oath of office and secrecy.
Harish Rawat, who was elevated to the Cabinet rank, was all smiles as he entered the Ashoka Hall.
Rawat, a strong contender for the post of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister after the March elections to the state assembly, had been sulking when the top post went to Vijay Bahuguna.
NCP`s Tariq Anwar was the only representative from the UPA partners to be sworn in as a Minister of State, marking his maiden entry in the government.
Anwar, a four-term member of the Lok Sabha from Katihar in Bihar, is now a second term Rajya Sabha member from NCP.
Rahul Gandhi, who arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan along with his mother Sonia Gandhi, was seen chatting with young ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot, RPN Singh and Jitendra Singh after the swearing-in ceremony.
"I am talking with my `imprints`," he said jocularly when journalists sought his comments on the reshuffle. He was apparently referring to media reports of `Rahul imprint on Cabinet reshuffle`.
PTI
