KOLKATA, May 9: SuvenduAdhikari was sworn in as the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister of West Bengal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an elaborate oath-taking ceremony at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Saturday.
This is the first time any Chief Minister of the state has taken oath at the Brigade Parade Ground. While previous chief ministers took their oath at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took her oath on Red Road in 2016 when she returned to power for the second time in a row.
Along with Adhikari, five other BJP leaders - Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, NisithPramanik and KshudiramTudu - were sworn in as ministers by West Bengal Governor RN Ravi.
"Congratulations to Shri SuvenduAdhikari Ji on taking oath as West Bengal's Chief Minister… Congratulations to Dilip Ghosh Ji, Agnimitra Paul Ji, Ashok Kirtania Ji, NisithPramanik Ji and KshudiramTudu Ji on taking oath as Ministers in the Government of West Bengal. These leaders have worked tirelessly at the grassroots and served the people. I am confident they will further strengthen West Bengal's development journey as Ministers. My best wishes," Modi wrote on X.
At the ceremony, Modi touched the feet of nonagenarian BJP veteran Makhanlal Sarkar, who was arrested in 1952 while accompanying Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Kashmir.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday called for all opposition parties in West Bengal to unite under a "joint platform" to fight the BJP, which took over the reins of the state from the TMC after 15 years in power.
The former chief minister also called upon the student unions opposed to the BJP and even NGOs to unite against the BJP.
Mamata's message came even as SuvenduAdhikari took oath as the chief minister of Bengal, becoming the first BJP leader to do so. Mamata's party suffered a massive defeat in the state elections, with the BJP getting over two-thirds majority on May 4.
"I call upon all opposition parties, including the Leftists and the ultra-Left, to come together to form a joint platform against the BJP," Banerjee said while addressing a small gathering in front of her Kalighat residence on Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, PTI reported.
Mamata also urged national parties to join her "joint platform" to fight the BJP. She further said that she will talk with any political party if they want to hold a dialogue with her in this regard. �"HT
