Lucknow, May 13: IT was BSP's blue flags all the
way at the sprawling Raj Bhavan lawns here when party chief
Mayawati was administered the oath of office and secrecy by
Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeswar this afternoon with BJP
leaders skipping the function.
Clad in a pink Salwar Kurta, Mayawati was greeted by
loud cheers as she walked to the dais to assume reins of the
state for the fourth time.
Just in front of her in the VIP box sat her
predecessor Mulayam Singh Yadav and Speaker Mata Prasad
Pandey.
Mayawati, however, walked straight towards the left of
the platform after the ceremony was over where her parents and
family members of BSP national general secretary S C Mishra
were sitting.
She introduced her parents to the Governor before
leaving the venue.
State Congress president Salman Khursheed and party
leader Pramod Tewari were also present at the ceremony but no
members of the BJP, the party with which Mayawati had formed
three governments in the past, was present.
Incidentally almost all the ministers, barring some
Brahmin incumbents, touched Mayawati's feet after being sworn
in. Rakesh Dhar Tripathi, Nakul Dubey and few other Brahmin
ministers, however, touched Mishra's feet instead.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, May 13, 2007, 00:00