New Delhi, May 21 – Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi will resign as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Wednesday. Before tendering his resignation to Governor Kamla Beniwal, the Gujarat Chief Minister will attend a special session of the state legislative Assembly where he will be accorded a farewell by the members. Modi has been the CM of Gujarat since October 7, 2001.
Marking the arrival of a new era in Indian politics, Narendra Modi was on Tuesday appointed Prime Minister, who said the elections have kindled a “new hope and aspiration” among the common man for whom he dedicated his government. President Pranab Mukherjee handed over to him the letter appointing him as the Prime Minister and he will be sworn-in on May 26 at 6 PM.
The appointment came after the 63-year-old Gujarat Chief Minister was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party as well as that of NDA in a meeting that was punctuated by outpouring of emotions by “strongman” Modi who broke down for a moment.
Modi’s formal ascent to the top caps the stunning electoral victory that he had secured in the Lok Sabha elections that will bring in the first non-Congress government in 30 years with absolute majority.
Party patriarch L K Advani, who had opposed projection of Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate, proposed his name for the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party which was seconded by a number of leaders including Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari.
His election was received by thumping of desks in the historic Central Hall of Parliament, which reverberated to the cries of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. At the end of the meeting, BJP President Rajnath Singh invited the gathering of newly-elected MPs to express their approbation with a standing ovation.
The NDA leaders and MPs joined the gathering immediately to elect Modi as the coalition leader and straightaway drove to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to convey to the President the election of their leader so that he can call him to form the government. Accepting the responsibility, Modi said the election result was vote for “new hope and aspiration” and he would try his best to live up to the expectations of the people.
“I accept the responsibility you have entrusted upon me. I assure you today that we meet in 2019 and I present my report card, you will not feel let down. You will never get an opportunity to look down on what my government will do,” he said.
Dedicating his government to the poor and the common man in whom the elections have generated “new hope and aspiration”, he said, “I believe a government is one which thinks of the poor, listens to the poor and lives for the poor.”
He added that his government would also be dedicated to the crores and crores of youth and “mothers and sisters who are craving for respect”. Modi, who was making his maiden entry into the hallowed Central Hall, bowed at the entry of Parliament with his forehead touching the stairs as a mark of respect to the “temple of democracy”.
Shedding his electoral rhetoric, he said he would not say that previous governments had done nothing good. “Various governments tried to do some good work in their own way for which they deserve appreciation. Whatever good has happened, we will carry it forward,” he said.
Hailing the “strength” of Indian democracy and the Constitution, he said it was because that a man of humble origin like him could make it to the top. Modi’s emotions came to the fore when he referred to Advani’s remark that he had done a “favour” to the party by taking it to dizzy heights which no non-Congress had ever achieved.
Choking for a moment, he had a sip of water and then proclaimed he had done his duty. “Can a son do favour to his mother? Not at all. Like the country, my party is my mother,” he said. Proposing Modi’s name, Advani said he was a “popular and famous leader” and he was happy commending his name. “In everyone’s life, there are some memorable moments and this is one such moment. History is being made every moment today,” he said.
In the combined meeting, the NDA constituents chose Modi as their leader hailing him as “strong” personality with “extraordinary capabilities” under whom the country will prosper and attain a major stature in the world. In his brief acceptance speech, Modi said even though BJP got a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, NDA allies will be as important for him as they would have been without it.
The leaders of NDA constituents, including Parkash Singh Badal of Akali Dal, Chandrababu Naidu of TDP, Uddhav Thackarey of Shiv Sena, Ramvilas Paswan of LJP and Nagaland Peoples’ Front, praised Modi stewardship and reposed confidence in him. Naidu said under Modi’s leadership, India will find a place among the world powers with “real competition” being with the US and China.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, while expressing his party’s support, said for 25 years, it has just been a struggle for the BJP-led alliance and now “good days have commenced”. In his acceptance speech, Modi told the NDA constituents that the government would be “yours” and it will be run collectively.
“Even though BJP got a majority on its own, you remain as important as you would be if BJP did not get majority on its own,” the Prime Minister-elect told them. He appreciated the work done by NDA constituents in their respective regions, saying they had set an “example of hard labour” which demonstrates their commitment above politics.
Modi recalled that NDA had started the march in the Lok Sabha polls with three parties and by the time the polls concluded, the convoy comprised 29 parties. After the combined BJP-NDA delegation met the President and also handed over support letters of ten constituents of the coalition whose members were elected. While BJP has 282 members, the coalition strength goes up to 336.
The Rashtrapati Bhawan communique announcing the appointment of Modi as Prime Minister said as Modi has been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party and BJP has the majority support in the House of the People, the President has appointed him as the PM. The President has asked Modi to give the names of others to be appointed as ministers in his government.
-INDIA TODAY
