West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (PTI Photo) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (PTI Photo)

Taking charge as West Bengal Chief Minister for the second consecutive term on Friday, Mamata Banerjee tweaked the standard oath administered to chief ministers and cabinet members by the Governor, changing “in the name of Ishwar” to “in the name of Ishwar and Allah”. After she made the change, her 41-member cabinet followed suit.

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.

Also read | Mamata takes oath with 41-member team

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.

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