Indian-origin leader Kash Patel took oath as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita on Saturday.
The 44-year-old Republican became the 9th FBI director on Friday after the Senate voted 51 to 49 in his favour.
Instead of the Bible, Patel was sworn in by Attorney General Pam Bondi with the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred Hindu scripture.
“Place your hand on the Gita and raise your right hand,” said Bondi while swearing in Patel.
“I, Kashyap Pramod Patel, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office which I am about to enter. So help me God,” Patel said in his oath.
Patel’s girlfriend Alexis Wilkins held the Bhagavad Gita as he was administered the oath in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Friday in the presence of his family members.
Addressing the audience, Patel thanked US President Donald Trump, calling him a “courageous warrior and leader”.
“I am living the American dream, and anyone who thinks the American dream is dead, look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian who is about to lead the law enforcement agency of the greatest nation on earth. That can’t happen anywhere else,” he added.
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“I promise that there will be accountability within the FBI and outside of it,” he added.
Additionally, US President Donald Trump praised Patel calling him the “best ever at that position”.
