As President Dr Ram Baran Yadav administered oath of office and secrecy in Nepali amidst a special function held at Sheetal Niwas, Jha, who had donned national dress -- Daura, Surawal and black cap -- for the occasion repeated the oath simultaneously in both Nepali and his mother tongue Maithili.
Officials said the Office of the Vice President had registered a letter at the President´s office on Saturday with a copy of the oath´s translation in Maithili. Jha signed both Nepali and Maithili copies of the oath after the swearing-in ceremony.
Jha´s vice presidency had remained inactive after he refused to take fresh oath in Nepali as directed by the Supreme Court on July 24, 2009, by nullifying his earlier oath in Hindi on July 23, 2008, that had sparked a furor.
The apex court had ordered Jha to take fresh oath in Nepali within seven days if he wanted to remain in the post. He, however, refused to heed the order after which the post of vice president had remained inactive.
The oath controversy came to an uneasy end after the top parties agreed to amend the Interim Constitution for the seventh time to add a provision of oath-taking in mother-tongue. Legislature-Parliament endorsed the amendment on January 28.
Jha will take charge as the acting head of the state when President Dr Yadav leaves for an official visit to India. President Yadav is scheduled to leave on a four-day official visit to India starting February 15 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil.
Oath row: Timeline
July 23, 2008: Paramananda Jha took oath in Hindi.
July 24, 2009: The Supreme Court nullified the oath terming it unconstitutional. It ordered him to take fresh oath in Nepali language.
August 30: Vice President Paramananda Jha did not attend the fresh oath-taking ceremony at the president´s office.
September 4: The government stripped Jha of all state privileges.
January 28, 2010: Legislature-Parliament endorsed the seventh amendment to the interim constitution, paving way for president and vice president to take oath of office in the mother tongue of their choice.
February 7, 2010: Paramananda Jha re-takes oath in Maithili and Nepali languages.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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