Photographs: B Mathur/Reuters
President elect Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and other top leaders at their memorials in New Delhi before heading to Parliament to take oath as the 13th President of India.
Travelling in a Mercedes Benz S 600, Mukherjee first visited Rajghat to pay homage to the Father of the Nation. After paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi, he paid respect to Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi.
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PICS: Pranab pays homage to leaders before oath
Image: Former President Pratibha Patil (C) poses for a picture with her members of staff during the "At Home" reception for lawmakers at India's presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New DelhiPhotographs: B Mathur/Reuters
Dressed in a black sherwani with white churidar, Mukherjee also paid homage to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at her memorial Shakti Sthal. Later he went to the memorial of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was accompanied by Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath.
Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia will administer the oath of office to Mukherjee in the Central Hall of Parliament at 11:30 am in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers, governors and chief ministers.
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PICS: Pranab pays homage to leaders before oath
Image: Newly elected President Pranab Mukherjee (C) pays respect at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat in New DelhiPhotographs: B Mathur/Reuters
Mukherjee's key aide Pradyut Guha said, "The President elect was very happy, calm and quiet as he left for the oath taking ceremony. He is going to take up a new assignment".
Talking about his attire, Guha said, "Mukherjee wore a new type of dress. He was wearing choga and achkan."
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