New Delhi: CP Radhakrishnan took oath as 15^th Vice-President of India on Friday at Rashtrapathi Bhavan in New Delhi. President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath with CP Radhakrishnan as Vice – President.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice-Presidents Jagdeep Dhankar, Hamid Ansari, Venkaiah Naidu, Union Ministers and other dignitaries attended the oath ceremony.

Rajya Sabha Deputy-Chairman Harivansh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Ministers of State Arjun Ram Meghwal and L. Murugan, and Rajya Sabha Secretary-General P.C. Mody welcomed to parliament house. He also planted a sapling in the Parliament complex in the presence of Ministers and Rajya Sabha officials

After taking the oath, Vice-President Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes at Rajghat to Mahatma Gandhi, at Sadaiv Atal to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and at Kisan Ghat to former Prime Minister Charan Singh. He also visited Prerna Sthal at Parliament House, where statues displaced due to the construction of the new Parliament have been relocated.

After taking oath, Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan held a meeting with floor leaders of parties in Parliament. The TMC, BJD, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped the meeting, citing short notice. Radhakrishnan reportedly told members he intended to take the Opposition along in running the House. I am very patient, he is learnt to have said, noting his long experience as an Opposition leader in Tamil Nadu.

He emphasized that the Opposition is an essential element of parliamentary democracy. During the interaction, he also recalled his political journey, prompting some leaders to remind him that his grandfather was aligned with the Left while his uncle was with the Congress.