Patil calls for fight on communalism, terrorism

New Delhi, July 25: Mrs Pratibha Patil today became the first woman President of the Republic and her first message to the people was to unitedly fight against communalism, casteism, extremism and terrorism.

Mrs Patil, who is the 13th President, was sworn in at a glittering function at the Central Hall of Parliament by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.

After being sworn in at 1430 hrs, she exchanged seats with her predecessor A P J Abdul Kalam, signalling that the Presidency has changed hands.

Others seated on dais, alongwith Mrs Patil and Dr Kalam, were the Chief Justice, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Acting Chairman of the Rajya Sabha K Rehman Khan.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended, among others, by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleagues and his predecessors Atal Bihari Vajpayee, V P Singh and I K Gujral, besides MPs and other dignitaries.

Mrs Patil took the oath in English. ''I, Pratibha Patil, will execute the office of President of India to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law and I will devote myself to the service and wellbeing of the people of India.'' ''We must all stand united in the fight against such divisive and destructive tendencies as communalism, casteism, extremism and terrorism,'' Mrs Patil said in her brief address at the function that lasted not more than 20 minutes.

Another significant point touched upon by the 72-year-old new President was empowerment of women, but there was no mention of reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.

''Empowerment of women is particularly important to me as I believe this leads to the empowerment of the nation,'' she said.

UNI