Daughter of Odisha now at Raisina Hills

Bhubaneswar: As the clock struck 10:15 at the Central Hall of Sansad Bhawan President-elect Draupadi Murmu was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, as the 15th Head of State. Clad in a Santhal Saree, she becomes the 10th President to take oath on July 25, the date on which Neelam Sanjiva Reddy followed by Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma, A P J Abdul Kalam, Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind successively took oath of office.

Before going to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, she went to Rajghat to offer respects at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi. At Rashtrapati Bhavan she was welcomed by President Kovind and his wife Savita. The President then led her to Sansad Bhavan where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CJI Ramana, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla received her.

Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik, who has been camping at Delhi, on Sunday met her and conveyed his best wishes on behalf of people and of BJP parliamentarians too. All BJD MPs too met the President- elect. They were all present at the oath-taking ceremony. The President's brother and sister-in-law were also reportedly present.

In her first address, she said: "My becoming the President is not my personal feat but is the achievement of every poor in India.," For youth of India she has all the support in their pursuit of nation's progress. She said "Vocal for Local", "Digital India" and "Start-up India" have all been instrumental in the country's rapid growth. She recited the poem of famous poet Bhima Bhoi " mo jeebana poche naraka podithau, jagata uddhar hau" (let my life be miserable, but let the world be saved)". With that as a guideline. she started serving people, she said. Daughters are supposed to be more considerate to her parents. Now that she has taken oath of office only a day after the global parents day, will she prove it right?