President Murmu accorded ceremonial welcome in Parliament

President Droupadi Murmu was welcomed at Parliament by VP Radhakrishnan, PM Modi, and LS Speaker Om Birla, with the ceremonial ‘Sengol’ procession marking the start of the Budget Session. She received a guard of honour and addressed the joint sitting

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu was on Friday welcomed in Parliament premises by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and an official carrying the ‘Sengol’, adopted as a cultural symbol by the government.

The president addressed the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament signalling the start of the Budget Session.

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The president arrived in Parliament in a six horse-driven ceremonial buggy and escorted by the horse-mounted presidential bodyguard on a misty morning in the national capital.

She was given a guard of honour in the lawns of the Parliament building and was escorted to the Lok Sabha chamber by Radhakrishnan, PM Modi, Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Ahead of President Murmu’s arrival, a senior Marshal in the Lok Sabha, who was dressed in a traditional attire, removed the Sengol and walked in a procession with Speaker Birla amid drum rolls.

The vice president, the prime minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker welcomed the president at the Gaja Dwar of the Parliament building and proceeded to the Lok Sabha chamber in a procession led by the officer carrying the ‘Sengol’ reverentially.