Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th vice-president of India.
President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Dhankhar at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Earlier in the day, Dhankhar visited Raj Ghat in Delhi to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi.
On August 6, the former West Bengal governor and National Democratic Alliance candidate won the election for the vice-president’s post. He received 346 of the 725 votes cast, while the Opposition’s candidate Margaret Alva got 182 votes. Fifteen votes were rejected as being invalid.
A former MP, Dhankhar was sworn in as the governor of West Bengal in July 2019. During his term as the governor, he and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were at loggerheads on several matters.
Dhankhar had been a vocal critic of the Mamata Banerjee government. On her part, Banerjee accused him of being a mouthpiece of the BJP-led central government. She had alleged that Dhankhar interfered with the state government’s functioning.
Meanwhile, the term of Venkaiah Naidu as vice-president ended on August 10.
On Wednesday, Naidu told mediapersons that he would now resume his “unfinished journey” in the service of the country, PTI reported. After Dhankhar’s swearing-in, the former vice-president will move to Hyderabad along with his family.
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