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Pratibha Patil takes over as first woman President

	July 30, 2007

Calls for inclusive growth and end to divisive tendencies



Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of the country when she was sworn in by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan in the Central Hall of Parliament at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. The outgoing President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Presiding Officers of both Houses of Parliament, former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and I.K. Gujral and a host of other leaders and foreign diplomats were present when she was administered the oath of office. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who resigned as Vice President after losing to Pratibha Patil in the bitterly contested poll for the Presidency was also present.



In her first speech as President, Pratibha Patil called for an end to divisive tendencies like communalism and for fighting terrorism. She also made an appeal for socially inclusive econom¬ic growth and women’s empowerment.







Pratibha Patil said: “I stand here as the republic’s first servant, and I will endeavour to live up to the high expectations from this office to serve the best interests of the people.” Thanking all legislators for electing her, she said she was aware that the office carried great responsibility.



Speaking first in English and then in Hindi, Pratibha Patil said she was inspired by all those who participated in the free¬dom struggle, which was unique in that men and women played an equal part. She said she firmly believed that empowerment of women would lead to empowerment of the nation.



“India is an ancient civilisation, but a young nation. We look back to the past with pride,” she added, pointing out that the United Nations dedicated October 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-violence.



She mentioned the advice offered by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar that the country must hold fast to constitutional methods, and said India had shown that a developing country of one billion people could live harmoniously and move forward as a secular democracy.



Now India was going through a period of historically unpre¬cedented growth. All sections must be equal partners and derive benefits from this. She was committed to working for the benefit of all citizens, especially to remove malnutrition and illiteracy and eradicate female foeticide.



Quoting Marathi poet Sant Tukaram and Rabindranath Tagore, Patil said: “All of us should re-dedicate ourselves to work for the betterment of the lives of the poor for a future in which every Indian will hold his head high.”





Pratibha Patil’s win a matter of pride : PM



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi on July 23 that Pratibha Patil’s victory is a matter of pride. Releasing a set of commemorative coins to mark the 151st birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Prime Minister said: “It is a matter of pride that on a day we commemorate the memory of Lokmanya Tilak, we can also say with pride that our country’s first lady President [Pratibha Patil] happens to be a Maharash¬trian. I am sure Lokmanya Tilak would have been a happy person today.”



Expressing his happiness at being associated with the occa¬sion, Dr. Singh said in the year that India celebrates the 60th anniversary of our Independence, the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence and the 151st birth anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, the country has a woman from his homeland as the President.



The Prime Minister said Tilak found no contradiction in remaining a devout Hindu and having a secular worldview. This showed his modernism and his enlightenment. He used religion to unite people, not to divide them. “Those who use religion to divide people and to promote hatred must learn from the construc¬tive lessons of Lokmanya Tilak’s life and work,” he said.





Due respect to the President : BJP



Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani said on Tuesday, July 24, that the Bharatiya Janata Party was “not apologetic” about its campaign in the run-up to the Presidential election, but would show “due respect to the office of the Presi¬dent of India.”



Addressing the closing session of the party’s two-day na¬tional executive committee meet of the Yuva Morcha, Advani sug¬gested that in some way or the other the BJP would keep its anti-Pratibha Patil campaign alive.



Once again Advani raised the issue of “corruption and criminalisation” of the polity and asked the youth to “wage a determined battle against this kind of politics of cynicism.” He charged the United Progressive Alliance Government with “bringing criminalisation into the realm of the Central Government,” refer¬ring to the party’s earlier charges that those with criminal records had been inducted as ministers.



Advani said the UPA had shown “callous disregard towards keeping the office of President away from suspicion of any kind of taint.” He objected to the Prime Minister’s remarks soon after Patil was declared winner, that it was a victory over “divisive forces.” He said it was for the UPA to do some intro¬spection on issues “highlighted by the media.”



Finally, Advani said the BJP considered the sanctity of the country’s highest Constitutional office to be more important than the person elected to occupy it and described himself as a “firm believer in the Constitutional order.” Advani said his party would “continue to show due respect to the office of President of India”.