Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President and leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has been invited to Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.
The Congress confirmed that Kharge will attend the ceremony representing the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The invitation to Kharge was extended by BJP leader Pralhad Joshi late on Saturday, as per ANI sources.
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However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, an ally of the INDIA bloc, announced that she will not be attending the ceremony. Banerjee stated she had not received an invitation and expressed her disapproval of the BJP.
“I have neither received (the invitation), nor will I go. I have already said that I wish well for the people in the country for not voting for him (PM Modi),” Banerjee remarked to reporters, adding “I am sorry, but I cannot wish well to an unconstitutional, illegal party for forming the government. My best wishes will be for the country.”
On Saturday, the Congress party indicated uncertainty about their attendance at the swearing-in ceremony. Congress leader KC Venugopal mentioned on Saturday that the party leaders had not received any invitations.
“So far we have not received any information from the government. We have not received any invitation…foreign leaders have been invited. Being the principal opposition party and the INDIA bloc leadership, we have not been informed. I do not know what the mood of the government is,” Venugopal told ANI.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh also highlighted that “only international leaders” had been invited to the event. “When our INDIA alliance leaders receive the invitation, we will think about it,” Ramesh stated.
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The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met on Saturday and urged Rahul Gandhi to take up the position of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Sonia Gandhi was confirmed as the head of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the Prime Minister of India for a historic third time today at 7.15 PM, matching Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of serving three terms as Prime Minister. Security measures are in place for the event, with five units of paramilitary forces stationed at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In the recent elections, the BJP won 240 seats, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 292 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress, part of the INDIA bloc, managed to stop the BJP from getting a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.
(With ANI Inputs)