New Delhi, September 12: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as India’s 15th Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Friday, with President Droupadi Murmu administering the oath at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cabinet ministers and senior Opposition leaders.
Former Vice-Presidents Jagdeep Dhankhar, Hamid Ansari and M. Venkaiah Naidu were also present. Dhankhar’s attendance marked his first public appearance since stepping down in July due to health reasons.
Modi later congratulated Radhakrishnan in a post on X, calling him a “dedicated public servant” and wishing him a successful tenure “dedicated to the service of the people.”
After the swearing-in, Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes at memorials to Mahatma Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Charan Singh, and visited the Prerna Sthal, where statues displaced from the old Parliament building have been relocated. He also planted a sapling in the Parliament complex.
Later in the day, Radhakrishnan met parliamentary party leaders, telling them he intended to work with the Opposition to ensure smooth functioning of the Rajya Sabha. The Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) and Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped the meeting, citing short notice.
“I am very patient,” Radhakrishnan told leaders, according to sources, while underscoring the importance of the Opposition in parliamentary democracy.
The event was not without controversy, with some Opposition figures expressing unease over seating arrangements. Congress president and Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge was placed in the second row, while leaders of several other Opposition parties were seated further back.
