Hindu Nationalist Slogans in sworn in ceremony of 14th President of Bharat.

Bharat Mata ki Jai and Jai Shri Ram slogans raised in Parliament in Ram Nath Kovind’s sworn in ceremony as 14th President of India.

Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | July 25, 2017:: A small section of BJP MPs, as much as 5 to 10 in numbers  shouted Bharat Mata ki Jai and Jai Shri Ram once each after Ram Nath Kovind was sworn in as India’s 14th President in a ceremony in Parliament’s Central Hall today.

Though it is first time sloganeering of Hindu Nationalist approach in any oath taking ceremony for Indian President, the same was heard at the time of oath taking ceremony of PM Modi’s oath taking too in 2014.

But, it is interesting that most of the BJP members and dignitaries present in President Ram Nath Kovind’s oath taking ceremony did not respond the Bharat Mata ki Jai and Jai Shri Ram Slogan as seen in the available video footage of Lok Sabha TV via ABP News+. It may be taken granted for a rapid trend in BJP for shifting in a Secular mode!

It is believed that the slogan Jai Shri Ram originated during the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babari Masjid movement in the 80s that heightened  the BJP from a marginal player to India’s political mainstream as emerged now as the largest political force in India.

Kovind, an ex parliamentarian and former Bihar Governor, is a long-time member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

Read also: After oath, Kovind tweets up a social media storm+

In March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with the same slogan by the BJP MPs when he walked into the House following the party’s stunning victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections.

Opposition leaders have often accused Modi of using the presidential race, which Kovind won easily in an electoral college last week, to further a strong Hindutva agenda.

Read also: Full text of Ram Nath Kovind’s first speech as President of India+

Kovind’s rise also caps a series of top appointments backed by Modi – including naming hardline Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh – that tighten the grip of the Hindu right on key public offices.

In the same line, it is expected an easy win of Venkaiah Naidu, a man of same RSS legacy,  in the post of Vice President of India, election of which is scheduled on 5 August 2017.

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__Agency inputs.