By IANS,
Chandigarh : Bhupinder Singh Hooda was Sunday evening sworn in as the chief minister of Haryana for a second term amid chaos as unruly Congress supporters virtually took over the proceedings.
Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia administered the oath of office and secrecy to Hooda at a ceremony in the Haryana Raj Bhavan here. Hooda took the oath in Hindi.
The ceremony, meant to be a formal one, was virtually hijacked by Congress leaders and supporters who stormed the stately complex as if they were going to a public rally.
Hooda, 62, had to gesture to supporters to keep quiet so that he could take oath.
Despite the Chandigarh Police cordoning off the entire area around the Raj Bhavan much in advance, thousands of uninvited Congress supporters created complete chaos on the occasion.
Police personnel had to resort to mild cane charge to disperse people trying to push through the iron gates of the Raj Bhavan. Even senior officers were stranded outside the gate for some time.
The ceremony was delayed for 15 minutes due to the bedlam. Even the motorcade of the chief minister got into the complex with much difficulty.
This is the second time that Hooda has taken over the reins of the state. He first became the chief minister in March 2005. His name to be chief minister was cleared by the Congress high command early Sunday after much suspense as his detractors within the party, including Union Minister for Tourism Kumari Selja, held him responsible for the party’s not-so-good showing in the assembly poll.
The Congress in Haryana emerged as the single largest party in the state assembly elections Oct 13 with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, falling short of simple majority by six seats.
Seven Independent candidates, however, Friday extended their support for the formation of the new government and shored up the Congress party.
The lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator in the assembly, Akram Khan, too Sunday extended his support to the Congress government. He said that he had been directed by BSP president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati to do so to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and others out of power in Haryana.
At Sunday’s ceremony, ministers in the previous Hooda government, dignitaries from Delhi, senior Congress leaders and their family members had a tough time in finding a seat as party supporters swarmed every inch of space available. Even the security ring near the dais saw hundreds of people occupying it.
The chaos and confusion forced Hooda to retreat into the Raj Bhavan building with the governor instead of coming to the lawns of the complex to mingle with invitees.