Droupadi Murmu took the oath as India’s 15th President on Monday followed by a 21-gun salute. The ceremony was held at the central hall of Parliament at 10:15 am on Monday as Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath of the office of the President to her.
Murmu, 64, scripted history on Thursday after defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in a one-sided contest. She is India’s first tribal President and the first President to be born after independence. She is also the youngest to occupy the top post and the second woman to become the President.
In her first address after taking oath as India’s President, Murmu said the country’s deprived, poor, Dalits and tribals can see their reflection in her which, she added, is a matter of big satisfaction for her. She also paid tributes to India’s freedom fighters and said the country will have to move quickly on the twin tracks of “sabka prayas” (everyone’s effort) and “sabka kartavya (every one’s duty) to fulfill their expectations.
Here are the top quotes from her speech:
# I humbly greet all the fellow citizens from this sacred Parliament, a symbol of the hopes, aspirations, and rights of all the citizens of India. Your affection, trust, and support will be my greatest strength in discharging my functions and responsibilities.
# My election is proof of the fact that in India, the poor can dream and also fulfil those dreams.
# It is the power of India’s democracy that a girl born in a poor tribal home could reach the topmost constitutional post.
# Satisfying to me that the people who were devoid of development for years -the poor, Dalits, backward, the tribals — can see me as their reflection. My nomination has blessings of the poor behind it, it’s a reflection of the dreams and capabilities of crores of women.
# I am the first President of the country who was born in independent India. We will have to speed up our efforts to meet the expectations that our freedom fighters had with the citizens of independent India.
# I started my life journey from a small tribal village in Odisha. From the background I came from, it was like a dream for me to get elementary education. But despite many obstacles, my resolved remained strong and I became the first daughter of my village to go to college. I belong to the tribal society, and I have got the opportunity to become the President from the Ward Councillor. This is the greatness of India, the mother of democracy.
Source: CNBCTV18
Add Comment