PM Shehbaz congratulates Narendra Modi on taking oath as prime minister

• Modi took oath of office on Sunday after humbling election victory.
• President Droupadi Murmu administered oath to Indian premier.
• Modi only second person after Nehru to serve third straight term.
  

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on taking oath as the India's premier.

Taking to his personal account on X, formerly Twitter, PM Shehbaz wrote: "Felicitations to @narendramodi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India."

The Pakistani premier's felicitation for his Indian counterpart came a day after he took oath as prime minister for the third consecutive time and retaining the coveted position.

Modi was sworn in as premier on Sunday for a record-equalling third term but this time his Bharatiya Janata Party is not in a strong position, which will test his ability to ensure policy certainty in the world's most populous nation.

In response to PM Shehbaz's post, Modi thanked the 72-year-old saying: "Thankyou [Shehbaz Sharif] for your good wishes."

The 73-year-old also responded to the felicitation by former premier Nawaz Sharif. Modi stated on his post on X: "Appreciate your message [Nawaz Sharif]. The people of India have always stood for peace, security and progressive ideas. Advancing the well-being and security of our people shall always remain our priority."

 

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Modi at a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president's palace in New Delhi, attended by thousands of dignitaries, including the leaders of seven regional countries, Bollywood stars and industrialists.

Modi, who started as a publicist of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of his BJP, is only the second person after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term as prime minister.

Modi, 73, secured the third term in elections that concluded on June 1 with the support of 14 regional parties in his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), unlike in the previous two terms when his party won an outright majority.

The outcome is seen as a big setback to the popular leader as surveys and exit polls had predicted BJP would secure even more seats than in 2019.