External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was missing from the dais for the ministers to be inducted in the new Cabinet during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony here on Thursday evening.
Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and D.V. Sadanand Gowda occupied the first four seats next to that of Prime Minister Modi in the front row.
Former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar was a surprise inclusion in the government and was seated on the dais in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Others seated in the front row included Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Ram Vilas Paswan, Narendra Singh Tomar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Hardeep Singh Puri, Giriraj Singh and Kiren Rijiju were also on the dais.
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The function is being attended by former Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and several chief ministers including Devendra Fadnavis, Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish Kumar and Yogi Adityanath.
--IANS
