Cabinet rejig: Ramdas Athawale forgets to say his name while taking oath

New Delhi: Ramdas Athawale, the leader of Republican Party of India (Athawale) on Tuesday forgot to mention his name during the oath-taking ceremony as the Narendra Modi government added 19 new ministers to its Cabinet.

Read: Cabinet rejig: Athawale's induction part of Modi's Dalit outreach

According to NDTV, when Athawale forgot to say his name, President Pranab Mukherjee prodded him saying, “Apna naam boliye” (Say your name). Following this, Athawale apologised, corrected himself and continued taking his oath.

Athawale became a Rajya Sabha member last year. He was a member of the Lok Sabha for over a decade until he lost the 2009 national election.

Read: PM Modi orders a bigger Cabinet, 17 new faces, 2 old hands sworn in

Athawale had been seeking a Cabinet berth for a long time, and his induction is seen as PM Narendra Modi’s outreach to the Dalit community ahead of several upcoming state elections in 2017.