After administering the oath of office and secrecy to seven cabinet ministers in a row at the Raj Bhavan, Mooshahary faltered when it came to the eighth one, "I do swear….That I shall not (not) bear true faith and allegiance….."
The august audience inside the packed Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan held their breath trying to figure out if they had indeed heard the Governor right before a murmur accompanied with suppressed giggles broke the silence.
A bewildered Congress legislator Founder Strong Cajee, who had begun reading the oath swearing by God, however, continued in the correct tone. Realizing his inadvertent mistake by now, the Governor promptly corrected himself "I shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution…"
There was yet another awkward moment in the course of the swearing-in ceremony of the eight Congress ministers in the Mukul Sangma-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) Government today. The lone lady legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh forgot to convey the customary greetings to the Governor after signing the oath of office and secrecy.
It was only after someone from the audience prompted her that Ampareen, who had by now almost gone back to her seat rushed back to the podium to shake hands with the Governor thus bringing the formalities to an end.