From the Archives: India gets its first non-Congress PM
History was made in the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 24, 1977, when Morarji Desai, leader of the victorious Janta Party, was sworn in as the country’s first non-Congress Prime Minister by the acting President BD Jatti
History was made in the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 24, 1977, when Morarji Desai, leader of the victorious Janta Party, was sworn in as the country’s first non-Congress Prime Minister by the acting President BD Jatti.
He took the oath of office and secrecy at a brief but solemn ceremony in the presence of a distinguished gathering which included YB Chavan, leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party which will now sit in the Opposition in Parliament, and Janta Party leaders N Sanjiva Reddy, Asoka Mehta, SN Mishra, LK Advani, Raj Narain, and George Fernandes.
The new Prime Minister is expected to finalise the list of his council of ministers in consultations with his party colleagues in a day when the first batch of his Cabinet colleagues will be sworn in.
Desai was earlier unanimously elected leader of the Janta Party in Parliament at its meeting in the Central Hall of Parliament amid scenes of unprecedented jubilation.
The presence of Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Kripalani, who had evolved a consensus in favour of Desai, added to the dignity of the occasion. Both of them made brief but inspiring speeches urging the new PM to utilise the power of the State and the power of the people for the country’s economic and social advancement.
The ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was a simple affair. In keeping with the austerity to which the Janta Party men are pledged, there were no garlands after the swearing-in.
Indira Gandhi, in a letter to Desai, offered her warm congratulations and best wishes for his success as Prime Minister.
The oath read out by the acting President in Hindi and repeated by Desai read; “I, Morarji Ranchodbhai Desai, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a minister for the Union and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour affection or ill will.”
The oath of secrecy read: “I, Morarji Ranchodbhai Desai, do swear in the name of God that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or repeat to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as a minister for the Union except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such minister.”
In the packed Central Hall of Parliament, Acharya JB Kripalani announced that taking all factors into consideration he and Jayaprakash Narayan had come to the conclusion that the nation should be led by Desai and that this decision should be accepted unanimously by the party. Kripalani said that the country tonight has only one Prime Minister otherwise it should have been possible to name Jagjivan Ram also for the high office.
Significantly, neither Jagjivan Ram nor Sir HN Bahuguna of the Congress for Democracy was seen at the meeting in the Central Hall, although they attended the pledge-taking ceremony at Rajghat and later also called on JP at the Gandhi Peace Foundation. Desai’s was proposed by Raj Narain and seconded by Atal Behari Vajpayee.
LK Advani, general secretary of the party, invited a cross-section of the party’s membership to speak on the resolution.
The members spoke of the supremacy of the people’s will and said the party should unitedly strive to fulfil the expectations the people had of a clean and efficient government functioning fully in accordance with democratic traditions.
They expressed confidence that the party, under the leadership of Desai and with the blessings of Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Kripalani, would deliver on its promises.
After the formal proposal and seconding of the resolution, Desai was declared elected leader.
Desai said he was grateful to the party for having reposed confidence in him. He said he was accepting a great responsibility, fully conscious that he would have the support and backing of the people to discharge his duties.
He sought the co-operation of all his partyman and others supporting the Janta Party in discharging his responsibilities.
Thousands of people, anxious to know as to who will be the new Prime Minister had assembled on the lawns of Parliament House. The police had a tough time preventing them from barging into the Central Hall. But as news spread that Desai was chosen leader of the Janta Parliamentary Party, the crowd started raising slogans in favour of the Party and Desai.
Desai, 81, had twice before sought the high office and had been passed over on both occasions. On Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964, his claims were overlooked and Lal Bahadur Shastri was chosen. In 1966, when Shastri died, the party by a process of consensus chose Indira Gandhi to lead the party.
