Nitish Kumar to skip Droupadi Murmu's swearing-in ceremony

This is not the first time Nitish Kumar will be skipping such an important event. Earlier also he has missed several events organised by the BJP by giving excuses, showing that there is a rift between Bihar CM and the BJP.

The Chief Minister has skipped several functions where the invite came from the party's top brass.

On July 17, he even missed a meeting of Chief Ministers called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

On Friday, he again skipped dinner for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President-elect Droupadi Murmu will take oath today as the Rashtrapati of India.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana will administer the oath to her at 10:15 am in the central hall of Parliament.

This will be followed by a 21-gun salute.

The ceremony will begin with the arrival of the outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind's arrival in Parliament.

Murmu will deliver her first address shortly after taking an oath of the office of the President of India.

Earlier in teh day, president-elect Murmu paid homage to the 'Father of the Nation' Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in the national capital.

Later, she called on outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Murmu will be escorted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the Central Hall. Once Droupadi Murmu reaches there, the National Anthem will be played in the Central Hall. Then, Droupadi Murmu will take the oath of office in the presence of the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.

On July 22, the former Jharkhand Governor Murmu registered a historic win over her rival Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential election, becoming the first woman tribal candidate and the second woman in the country to occupy the highest office in the country.

The NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu was officially declared as the 15th President of the country after the conclusion of the counting of votes on Thursday.

Murmu received 2,824 votes with a value of 6,76,803 while her opponent Yashwant Sinha secured 1,877 votes with a value of 3,80,177. A total of 4,809 MPs and MLAs cast their votes in the polling that took place on July 18.

Secretary General of Rajya Sabha and the Returning Officer for Presidential Election 2022, PC Mody handed over the certificate to President-elect Droupadi Murmu at her residence in Delhi. (ANI)