An oath-taking ceremony where family and faith met

The hour-long oath-taking ceremony of the new ministers was a family affair and a show of fandom.

The event was scheduled to start precisely at 2.12 pm, which apparently was an astrologically auspicious time. However, it was 2.17 pm when Governor Vajubhai R Vala arrived at the glass house in the Raj Bhavan and 2.19 pm when the event formally commenced with the national anthem.

Several ministers were accompanied by their family members. They were seen introducing sons and daughters to each other.

However, a large number of their supporters filled the glass house. When D K Shivakumar, G T Deve Gowda, U T Khader, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Krishna Byre Gowda and C S Puttaraju took oath, the glass house saw deafening shouts and whistles by their supporters. Some of them had to gesture at their supporters to stop cheering so that they could read out their oath.That H D Revanna is superstitious became evident when he stood facing the north direction to sign his oath-taking documents.

Religious beliefs of some of the ministers was on display. While most ministers swore in the name of God as is common practice, there were some exceptions. For example, Shivakumar took oath in the name of a deity named Ajayya.

Likewise, G T Deve Gowda swore on Goddess Chamundeshwari, M C Managuli on Amba Bhavani, C S Puttaraju on Tripura Sundari, R Shankar on Mylara Lingeshwara, Rajshekar Patil on Veerabhadreshwara, Zameer Ahmed Khan on Allah and his mother.

Only two ministers swore in the name of historical figures - Shivanand Patil on 12th century social reformer Basavanna and N Mahesh (BSP) on Buddha, Basavanna and Ambedkar.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s wife Chennamma was forced to walk to the glass house for the swearing-in ceremony after her vehicle, which was part of a convoy, was not allowed to enter the Raj Bhavan premises.

At the Vidhana Soudha, meanwhile, work was underway in full swing to refurbish rooms that will be allotted to the new ministers.