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Celebrations across country after Modi sworn-in as Prime Minister

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ANI Varanasi

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath of office and secrecy in the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, Modi's supporters in Varanasi and across the country took to streets to celebrate.

In Varanasi, from where Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections, his supporters marched down the streets and burst crackers to celebrate Modi becoming the 15th Prime Minister of the country.

The supporters also performed Ganga Arti on the ghats of Ganga River and prayed for his well being.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Trivandrum, Patna, Delhi and Bhopal.

Earlier, Modi was sworn-in as the 15th Prime Minister of the country. The swearing-in ceremony lasted for about one and a half hour.

 

The ceremony concluded with the national anthem and was followed by a photo opportunity of the entire Cabinet with President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

Thereafter, seven SAARC heads of government and the Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament congratulated Modi on his assumption of office, shook hands with the President and Vice-President, and then posed for a group photograph. This in itself was a historic occurrence.

The dignitaries are now attending a banquet hosted by the President.

The oath of office and secrecy to Modi was administered by President Pranab Mukherjee. He took his oath in Hindi.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by several world leaders including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Heads of Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Mauritius were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by a host of Bollywood celebrities including Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Vivek Oberoi, Dharmendra.

Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, besides leaders of various other parties and chief ministers of a number of states were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

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First Published: May 26 2014 | 9:45 PM IST

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