Vice President CP Radhakrishnan was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu on Friday. The ceremony was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where Radhakrishnan sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India. Dressed in a red kurta, Radhakrishnan took the oath in English in the name of God. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and several other top political leaders including Cabinet ministers and Opposition leaders attended the ceremony. Dhankhar attended the ceremony in his first public appearance since his resignation as the Vice President.
Earlier on September 9, NDA nominee Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President of India, securing 452 votes against Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes. The election was necessitated due to the sudden resignation of the then incumbent, Jagdeep Dhankhar, on July 21.
Radhakrishnan assumes office of Rajya Sabha chair
Hours after taking the oath, Radhakrishnan assumed charge as the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Radhakrishnan offered floral tributes at the Prerna Sthal at Parliament House complex where he was welcomed by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and his deputy Arjun Ram Meghwal. Prerna Sthal houses the statues of India's eminent leaders, freedom fighters and social reformers. Later, he went to the office of Rajya Sabha chairperson and signed documents assuming charge of the presiding officer of the upper house. Notably, the Vice President is the ex-officio chair of the Rajya Sabha.
Who is CP Radhakrishnan?
CP Radhakrishnan was born on May 4, 1957, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. He has a long history of association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), joining the organisation at just 16 years old in 1973. This early engagement with RSS laid the foundation for his later entry into politics, first with the Janata Party and then the BJP. Over the years, Radhakrishnan has cultivated a strong ideological connection with the party's core values.
Radhakrishnan's Political journey
Radhakrishnan's political career took off in 1998 when he won the Coimbatore constituency in the Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate. He retained his seat in the 1999 elections, winning by a significant margin, with over 1.5 lakh votes in 1998 and 55,000 votes in 1999. These victories came in the aftermath of the Coimbatore bombings, which boosted the BJP's popularity in the region.
Radhakrishnan's influence grew within the party, and he eventually became the President of the BJP Tamil Nadu from 2004 to 2007. During his tenure, he undertook a 93-day rath yatra (chariot journey) to raise issues like linking Indian rivers, fighting untouchability, and campaigning against terrorism in the country. He was also instrumental in restoring the NDA's alliances in Tamil Nadu when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) severed ties with the BJP in 2004.
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