Emotional Modi pledges to serve nation

India's prime minister-elect Narendra Modi choked back tears on Tuesday and promised to try to live up to expectations as he made his first visit to parliament since his sweeping election victory.

The 63-year-old leader bowed and kissed the steps of the building as he entered for a meeting of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, later announcing that he would take the oath as prime minister on May 26.

Speaking in the central hall of parliament, Modi was briefly overcome in a rare public display of emotion by the hardliner known to his supporters as the "Lion of Gujarat".

Other BJP figures could be seen weeping.

"I said this earlier and I say it again: that 1.25 billion Indians' hopes and aspirations are embedded in this temple of democracy," he said, later recalling his humble origins as the son of a tea seller.

He said "the common man has got renewed self-confidence and faith in democracy" after the victory last Friday by the BJP, which won the first majority by a single party since 1984.

"For rural areas, farmers, dalits (low castes), weak and the pained, this government is for them. To meet their aspirations and hopes, this is our responsibility because our weakest, poorest have sent us here," he said.

Modi broke down, having to pause and ask for a glass of water, while referring to his former mentor L.K. Advani and promising to serve the BJP and India as his "mother".

"I will try to fulfil all your expectations, I won't let you down," he said after being voted as the leader in parliament of theNational Democratic Alliance which includes the BJP and allies.

Modi, chief minister of the western state of Gujarat since 2001, has been locked in talks since Sunday about the composition of his cabinet, which will be sworn in by President Pranab Mukherjee next Monday.

As behind-the-scenes lobbying continued for berths in his administration, Modi urged colleagues to show discipline and commit themselves to work hard for the good of the nation.

"This joy, celebration will continue but this marks the beginning of the era of responsibility," he said.
Revive the economy

After a brief meeting with Mukherjee, Modi is expected to travel on Tuesday to Gujarat where he will resign after 13 years in power as state leader.

The Indian Express newspaper reported Tuesday that Modi's office had already written to senior bureaucrats asking them to prepare presentations to explain their work and any problems they had encountered.

The new government is expected to focus initially on trying to remove bottlenecks that have seen many industrial and infrastructure projects stalled for lack of clearances.

The make-up of the new cabinet remains shrouded in secrecy, but reports suggest lawyer and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley is the frontrunner for the finance portfolio, while BJP president Rajnath Singh could get the home ministry.

"Any individual, if he has dedicated his life to the country, it is but natural for him to become emotional," senior BJP figure Smriti Irani told AFP after Modi's speech. "I have seen his softer side before so I was not surprised," she added.


 

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