‘Jai Mata Di’: Priests anoint Nirmala Sitharaman as new Defence Minister 

After Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey held a puja at Nirman Bhawan—which houses the Ministry of Health - for good health of everyone before assuming office, religious priests anointed the handover of Defence Ministry to Nirmala Sitharaman from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who handled additional charge of the ministry for five months after Manohar Parrikar was shifted to Goa as Chief Minister.

Nirmala, 55, is the second woman Defence Minister after Indira Gandhi and the first full-time woman Defence Minister of the country.

As Article 51 A of Indian Constitution—which deals with fundamental duties—makes it a duty of every citizen to develop a scientific temper and promote rationality, many social media users were quick to raise questions over priests conducting prayers in the defence minister's chamber before she assumed charge.

Happymon Jacob, who teaches Diplomacy and Disarmament Studies at JNU, posted the picture of the minister accompanied by Hindu priests on Twitter, wondering, “what would have been the reaction if a few Christian priests were to be seen hanging around in the background when AK Antony took office as India's defence Minister!”

Bengaluru-based Shakeeb Ahmed Khan, who works for the welfare of persons with physical disabilities, wrote on Twitter, “If same prayers have been done by Muslim I wonder how you would have reacted.”

Mocking at the growing trend of holding religious rituals in the ministry offices under BJP-led NDA government, Amit Kumar tweeted: “purification of offices won’t serve any purpose. Purify your souls if you want to deliver tangible results. People send out messages by only purifying the offices.”

Here’s a collection of more critical reactions:

But the religious ceremonies that marked the beginning of Sitaraman’s beginning in Defence Ministry, were highly appreciated by several BJP-RSS supporters. Here’s is a collection of reactions by jubilant right wingers:

Previously, Choubey had arrived at Nirman Bhawan accompanied by a group of priests, some of them from his hometown of Bhagalpur in Bihar. He entered his office only after performing a “pranam” at the door as priests waited for him inside.

Amid chants of Siyapati Ramchandra Ki Jai and Har Har Mahadev, he assumed office following several religious rituals and Ganesh puja.