New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind will take oath as the 14th President of India today. He will be administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar at a special function at the Central hall of Parliament.
Before the ceremony, Kovind is scheduled to visit Rajghat to pay his respects to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Then, President Pranab Mukherjee and President-elect Kovind will have a one-on-one discussion on important files and policies related to defence, external affairs and finance.
Thereafter, the President-elect and the President will travel in the same car in a ceremonial cavalcade to the Parliament, where they will be received by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The dais at the central hall will be shared by President and President-elect, Speaker, Vice President and Chief Justice of India. After the oath the new President will be honoured with a 21-gun salute followed by his acceptance speech.
After the event, the new President and Mukherjee will proceed towards Rashtrapati Bhavan where thr outgoing President will give Kovind a tour of the official residence of the first citizen of the country. After an inter-services guard of honour, Mukherjee will proceed to his new residence – 10, Rajaji Marg in the national capital.
Kovind, the ruling NDA candidate, was elected as the President of India on Thursday. He defeated the Opposition parties’ nominee Meira Kumar by a huge margin.
Ms Kalinga