INDIA: Elected government is sworn in after a sweeping victory in general elections

Record ID: 1380174

  • Title: INDIA: Elected government is sworn in after a sweeping victory in general elections
  • Date: 23rd May 2009
  • Summary: (CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY) DIGNITARIES, POLITICAL LEADERS AND BUREAUCRATS SEATED IN AUDIENCE CHIEF OF INDIA'S RULING CONGRESS PARTY, SONIA GANDHI TALKING TO INDIAN VICE-PRESIDENT MOHAMMAD HAMID ANSARI PATIL ADMINISTERING OATH TO PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH SAYING: "I, Manmohan Singh, do swear, in the name of God,
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2009 16:17
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8BQ7U8P2QP05J3YQXTWZ9T862
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sworn-in on Friday (May 22) for a second successive term after his coalition won a sweeping victory in a mammoth, month-long general election.
    Singh, 76, has named 19 members to his new cabinet, many of them veteran colleagues in his Congress party. Portfolios were not allocated.
    A soft-spoken economist, Singh was sworn in by President Pratibha Patil at a ceremony at president's house.
    Singh named veteran colleagues in his Congress party such as Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his new cabinet, suggesting a continuity from the previous administration at a time of slowing economic growth.
    With a stronger mandate behind it after a general election, the Congress sought to project a firm stance, refusing to yield to regional parties demanding ministerial positions in the new cabinet.
    But the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, from southern Tamil Nadu state, insisted that it would offer its 18 lawmakers only as outside support rather than be part of the coalition's parliamentary majority after it was offered a smaller number of ministerial jobs.
    Unlike the previous administration, the Congress-led coalition is assured of the support of more than 300 members of the lower house of parliament, well above the half-way mark of 272 required to rule.
    No DMK lawmaker was named among the 19 cabinet members. But a statement from Singh's office said the council of ministers, including the cabinet, would be expanded "in the next few days".
    The Indian Express said the DMK had been offered six positions in the cabinet instead of the eight it wanted, and that there was also wrangling over the portfolios.
    Party stalwart Mukherjee was the frontrunner for the finance minister's job, a post he held in the 1980s.
    Mukherjee is seen as a stable hand with a history of pushing reforms, including signing up for a WTO agreement giving nations more access to global trade in 1994 when he was commerce minister.
    Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, among the 19 named, has been tipped by some media reports to assume Mukherjee's old job at the foreign ministry. Home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, who took over after the Mumbai attacks, will likely stay in his post.
    Unfettered by their former leftist allies, Congress is also expected to push reforms such as raising the foreign investment limit in insurance and opening up the pension sector.
    The Indian stock market surged earlier this week as investors welcomed Singh's strong mandate, which raised expectations for aggressive economic reforms at a time when growth in Asia's third-largest economy has slowed to 6.5 percent.
    Besides the slowdown, Singh's second term will face an array of challenges such as fraught relations with old rival Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks and a potential showdown with wealthier countries at the Doha world trade talks.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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