Delhi Police Ends Wild Talk About "Mysterious Animal" At Oath Ceremony

The Delhi Police has cleared the air over a video that went viral on social media, in which a "mysterious" animal was spotted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the oath-taking ceremony yesterday. 

A "cat-like" animal as claimed by many on social media, was spotted in the background when BJP MP Durga Das Uikey greeted President Droupadi Murmu after taking the oath as a minister. 

What The Delhi Police Said

The Delhi Police have ended the mystery and said, "Some media channels and social media handles are showing an animal image captured during the live telecast of oath-taking ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday, claiming it to be a wild animal."

"These facts are not true, the animal captured on camera is a common house cat. Please don't adhere to such frivolous rumours," the Delhi Police said in a post on X. 

Speculations swirled on social media, with some claiming that it was a leopard. An animal present near the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, one of the most secured complexes in India, that too during the oath-taking ceremony led to the conjectures. News agency PTI quoted a Delhi Police official and said there are only dogs and 'domestic' cats inside the complex.

Quoting an official from the Forest Department, PTI reported that, there are no prior reports of any leopard seen in the presidential estate. 

Modi 3.0 - The Oath Taking Ceremony

President Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to a 72-member Council of Ministers, including 30 cabinet ministers, 36 Ministers of State (MoS) and five MoS with independent charge.

Key figures like Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar continue as Cabinet ministers. The new Council of Ministers includes 11 ministers from the NDA alliance partners.

PM Modi, 73, will head a coalition government in his third term, or Modi 3.0, for the first time since he became Prime Minister in 2014 following a huge "Brand Modi" victory after ten years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet in his historic third term will retain the known faces in the big four ministries - Amit Shah will retain the Home portfolio, Rajnath Singh Defence, Foreign Ministry will be retained by S Jaishankar and the Finance Ministry by Nirmala Sitharaman. The Prime Minister will handle the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space.