Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is all set to take the oath of office for his second term at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday evening. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Modi and other members of the Union Council in the presence of a large gathering of national and international dignitaries.
According to reports, around 6,000 guests are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister, which was attended by about 5,000 people in 2014.
File image of Narendra Modi with Ram Nath Kovind. Twitter/@airnewsalerts
This year, the guest list includes heads of several neighbouring countries, chief ministers of most of the states and a few famous personalities of sports and entertainment world. The families of BJP worker who allegedly lost their lives in political violence in West Bengal in the last year have also been invited for the event.
Here is a list of guests who are expected to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony:
Foreign guests
Leaders of all BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries have confirmed their participation for the ceremony. This includes — the president of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering, special envoy of Thailand Grisada Boonrach, President of Myanmar Win Myint, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, and Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli. Besides them, the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and, President of Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbay Jeenbekov have also been invited.
In 2014, Modi had invited all SAARC leaders including the then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony, in a major initiative to reach out to the neighbouring countries. However, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has not been invited this time around.
Modi is likely to hold bilateral meetings with most of the international leaders on 31 May.
Reports say IMF Managing Director and Chairman Christine Lagarde has also been extended an invite.
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Indian leaders
The chief ministers of all states have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony. However, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Singh Bhaghel and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan have expressed inability to attend the event.
Mamata rejected the invite to protest accusations of political murders in West Bengal denying allegations of poll violence and any political murders in the state. Patnaik, who took oath for his fifth term as the chief minister denied the invitation but sent warm wishes. Whereas, Bhaghel cited prior engagements as the reason for his inability to be present at the event.
Meanwhile, the newly-elected Andhra chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, are expected to attend the ceremony.
From the Opposition, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have confirmed their attendance.
Celebrities
Businessmen and industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Ratan Tata and Ajay Piramal have also been invited for the event, reports said. While international tycoons John Chambers and Bill Gates have also been extended invitation.
From the sports world, former sprinter PT Usha, cricketers Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, Pulella Gopichand and gymnast Dipa Karmakar are among the personalities invited to the ceremony.
Also, several Bollywood stars, including Kangana Ranaut, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Bhansali and Karan Johar have reportedly been invited as well along with veterans Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Families of deceased BJP workers
The family members of 50 BJP workers, who the party claims were killed in political violence in West Bengal in the last year, have also been invited.
List of slain @BJP4India members from #Bengal whose family members are attending swearing in tomorrow pic.twitter.com/gq4pbI0ZFo
— Sachin Singh (@sachinsingh1010) May 29, 2019
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Updated Date: May 30, 2019 09:36:57 IST
