VP-elect Radhakrishnan’s oath date to be finalised today; to resign as Maha governor: Officials

New Delhi: The schedule for vice president-elect Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan’s oath-taking ceremony will be decided on Wednesday, people aware of the development said.

Radhakrishnan, who was elected as the 15th vice-president of India after securing 452 of 767 votes and defeating the opposition’s B. Sudarshan Reddy in Tuesday’s election, will have to submit his resignation as governor of Maharashtra to President Droupadi Murmu.

“The home secretary, Govind Mohan, will brief the VP-elect… The schedule for his oath ceremony will be decided and announced subsequently. He also has to submit his resignation to the President,” an official privy to the details said.

The oath ceremony is proposed for September 12, but people aware of the development said the date will be confirmed after approval from the President’s Office and consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda, along with senior National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders Sanjay Jha, Ram Mohan Naidu, and Shrikant Shinde, called on Radhakrishnan on Tuesday night. More leaders—including some from opposition parties—are expected to call on him today, said another official aware of the matter.

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Soon after the results were declared, Radhakrishnan said that he wants to work for the development of the nation. “We all have to work together. If we want Viksit Bharat by 2047, we should not do politics in everything. Once the election is over, we have to forget politics and we have to concentrate on development…” he added.

He also said that the opposition and the ruling party are the “two sides of the same coin” and both are important in a democracy.

Radhakrishnan will assume his role as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the winter session, which is expected to start in November. The 68-year-old will take charge of a deeply divided Rajya Sabha that has seen unprecedented friction between the chair and the opposition in the past two years, resulting in the first-ever no-confidence notice against a sitting vice-president in independent India. Dhankhar, however, had rejected the notice against him on technical grounds.

Earlier, while seeking support for his candidacy, Radhakrishnan, in a letter to lawmakers, had said, “A strong parliamentary democracy depends on harmonious Centre-State relations. I will work with unwavering commitment to uphold and strengthen cooperative federalism, recognising the essential role of states in our national progress.”

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“Social justice, especially for the most marginalised communities, will remain a priority. I will work towards building consensus on inclusive development and the welfare of the poor, their livelihood and dignity,” he added in the letter.

Pointing out that the Rajya Sabha has an important role, the VP-elect had written that if elected, he would strive to uphold the dignity and responsibilities of the house by working in close cooperation with all members of parliament (MPs) across party lines.

Radhakrishnan, a former two-term lawmaker from Tamil Nadu, had also alluded to his “humble background” and said he has been involved in community service from a very young age. “I am proud to belong to Tamil Nadu, the land which has given us stalwarts such as K. Kamaraj, C. Rajagopalachari, former Presidents Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, R. Venkataraman and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.”