New Delhi, July 25 (PTI): Ram Nath Kovind was on Tuesday sworn in as India's 14th President, the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader and the second Dalit in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Kovind, 71, took oath in Hindi to thunderous applause and thumping of desks by the gathering, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee and former President Pratibha Patil. Devegowda, President of the Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, former deputy prime minister L.K. After he took oath, Kovind was given a 21-gun salute to mark the assumption of office of the highest constitutional post in the country. Once the oath taking was over, Kovind and Mukherjee exchanged seats on the dais after which the new President delivered his maiden speech as president.

Source: The Telegraph July 25, 2017 08:03 UTC