Team Mamata takes oath in name of Ishwar and Allah in West Bengal

Mamata, who was the first to take oath, said: “Ami Mamata Banerjee, Ishwar o Allah r naame shapoth koritechhi, j bidhi dara sthapita Bharater songbidhaaner proti ami okopot shroddha o nishtha poshon koribo (I, Mamata Banerjee, do swear in the name of Ishwar and Allah, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as established by law).” She said the same thing on another occasion while taking oath.

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Siddiqullah Chowdhury, who took oath as a Minister of State, told The Indian Express that the official paper on which the oath was written said only “Ishwar”, and that Mamata made the change herself.

“She has a secular image and there were many Muslims present in the gathering. It is one of her moves to send out a positive message to everyone. I myself took oath in the name of Allah,” Chowdhury said.

Another newly appointed minister said on condition of anonymity that he was slightly wary of changing the norms. “But after Mamata Banerjee made the slight change in the oath and others followed suit, I decided to go for it,” he said.