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A packed hall, the changed pecking order and search for seats

Anita Joshua

PHOTOS: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

THE NEW TEAM: The Members of Parliament who were sworn in Union Ministers by President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. (Clockwise, from top left) A.K. Antony, C.P. Joshi, B.K. Handique, Ambika Soni, Murli Deora, Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal, Vayalar Ravi, Meira Kumar, Veerappa Moily, Jaipal Reddy, Ghulam Nabi Azad, S.M. Krishna, P. Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Anand Sharma.

NEW DELHI: The new reality of Indian politics was in evidence inside the stately Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday evening as the gathering awaited the arrival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take oath of office and secrecy at the head of a 19-member Council of Ministers.

The pecking order at the high-table had changed to such an extent that Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh were seen searching for a place to sit in the rear rows. Regular front-benchers at most political dos, the two headed for the ringside at first only to realise that there was no room for them in the front.

Quietly, the duo walked back and was apparently going to settle in the extra chairs laid out at the far end of the room when Mr. Amar Singh’s bete noire, Digvijay Singh of the Congress, offered them his place. The duo accepted the offer without much ado but quietly left midway between the proceedings.

Lalu Prasad of the Rashtirya Janata Dal and his new-found ally Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Jan Shakti Party — also out of favour after failing to stitch up a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Bihar — might have met the same fate but for their membership of the outgoing Ministry. This ensured them a place in the front row but both were a pale shadow of their usual self.

Leader of the Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, too, got a taste of the changed reality. With the hall packed to capacity by the time he arrived, there were a few embarrassing moments as Mr. Advani waited for Rashtrapati Bhavan staff to put an extra chair for him in the front row. While other Congress opponents, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), got an invitation, BJP president Rajnath Singh did not make it to the list of invitees either.

Standing ovation

In sharp contrast to his first swearing-in five years ago to the day, Dr. Singh’s rating within his own party has evidently gone up. He got a standing ovation as soon as he stepped into the hall, and there was no reluctance in the applause as the predominantly Congress crowd acknowledged his role in reshaping the destiny of the ‘grand old party.’

Of the 19 Ministers who were sworn in, a dozen followed the Prime Minister in taking the oath of office and secrecy in the ‘name of God’ while Sharad Pawar, A.K. Antony, P. Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, M. Veerappa Moily, S. Jaipal Reddy and C.P. Joshi opted to “solemnly affirm.”

Barring Mr. Pawar, Kamal Nath, Meira Kumar and Mr. Joshi, the others took the oath in English.

Hopefuls attend

The gathering included several Ministry hopefuls; many of whom tried to get an audience with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul over tea after the function. And they were not alone. Mr. Prasad was by her side; trying to salvage the warm relationship they have shared for years till this election brought in bitterness that he sought to erase by stuffing a ‘rasgulla’ into Rahul Gandhi’s mouth.

A man in a hurry

PTI reports from New Delhi:

Kamal Nath was a man in a hurry while taking oath as a member of the Union Cabinet here on Friday.

Before the President could prompt him with the customary first word of the sentence, Mr. Kamal Nath began his oath bringing smiles to the faces of all present, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Not only this, Mr. Kamal Nath, attired in a white ‘kurta pyjama,’ began leaving the dais soon after taking oath without signing the register.

Smiling, the MP from Chhindwara went back and signed his name again eliciting smiles from those present.

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Corrections and Clarifications

(We were instructed to read the caption of the accompanying photograph in a report "A packed hall, the changed pecking order and search for seats" (May 23, 2009) as "Clockwise, from top left", but it only ended up making an error, and confusing readers. (The caption was: "The New Team: The Members of Parliament who were sworn in Union Ministers by President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday ..") They point out that all we needed to say was "Both rows, left to right.")

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