Vijayan takes oath as Kerala CM for second time

Pinarayi Vijayan has been sworn in as the chief minister of Kerala for second time today. The oath-taking ceremony took place at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the members.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had given the go-ahead to the physical swearing-in ceremony of the new government but directed that the number of people should be restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It has been decided that the swearing-in will be conducted physically in the presence of 500 people.

The CPI-M led Left Democratic Front had won 99 seats in the 140-member assembly. An order issued by the Chief Secretary regarding the oath-taking ceremony stated that entry to the venue would be strictly through an entry pass and the entry/exit will be regulated by maintaining social distancing.

The order said that the seating arrangements including at the dais will be made as per COVID-19 protocol. Entry will be allowed to only those persons having RT-PCR/TRUNAT/RT-LAMP negative results obtained within 48 hours or on the production of a final certificate of COVID vaccination. The order also stated that a testing facility for COVID-19 shall also be arranged near the venue.