 "Modi swearing-in: TN parties rap invite to Rajapaksa")
In Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also hinted to her Trinamool Congress MPs to stay away from Delhi on Monday, the day of the oath ceremony.
Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and its arch rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), on Thursday rapped the decision to invite Rajapaksa. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said his presence would be “unfortunate” and “rubbing salt into the wounds of the already deeply injured Tamil psyche”.
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Modi had attended Jayalalithaa’s swearing-in as CM in 2011 and she had returned the favour in 2012, being present when he took oath as CM in Gandhinagar. The MDMK, an ally of BJP, has also opposed the invitation. The DMK said Modi should understand the feelings of the Tamil people on this matter and could have avoided the invite.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman defended her party’s decision to invite Rajapaksa and other heads of government in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), including Pakistan. “This is essentially an attempt to participate in a joyful celebration of democracy and the invite should be seen in that context,” she said.
The Congress party reminded the BJP of the latter’s oft-repeated remarks when it had been out of power that support to terrorism in India and talks could not go hand in hand. “Throughout the election campaign, you saw a lot of anti-Pakistan rhetoric, articulated by the BJP in a language which was extremely vociferous, to say the least…it is for the BJP to introspect,” said outgoing information minister Manish Tewari.
In Kolkata, Trinamool Congress sources said party chief Mamata Banerjee had asked all party MPs to defer taking oath as Lok Sabha members on May 26. The leadership was tightlipped as to whether the party would attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony, given the war of words between Modi and Banerjee during the election campaign. However, sources in Parliament said oath taking of MPs has been planned only from June 2.
The BJP, which had initially planned to invite all chief ministers to the oath taking, said on Thursday a final decision on this was yet to be taken. After the day’s developments, the party might save itself some embarrassment by restricting the invite to CMs of the BJP and National Democratic Alliance.
The Monday swearing-in is to take place in the forecourt lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Official sources said 2,500 people were being invited, of which the President’s House would ask 1,250 from its protocol list. This would include former Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, vice president Hamid Ansari and his spouse, foreign envoys, the defence chiefs, top bureaucrats, etc. The BJP was yet to take a decision on whether to invite state governors.
The BJP has also asked that all 800-odd MPs, both of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, be invited. Sources said only the MPs will be invited, not their spouses, given the paucity of space. Each of the ministers to be sworn in have been allowed to name up to four guests each, while the PM designate might invite 20 to 25. It is likely Modi’s mother, his siblings and their children might attend.
Apart from this, the BJP asked the protocol division of Rashtrapati Bhavan to invite the party’s national executive members and its state unit leaders. The ceremony would last 70 minutes and be followed by tea.
Ministry of External Affairs sources said all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) member countries had by Thursday evening confirmed attendance barring Pakistan. Bangladesh would be represented by its Speaker Shirin Chaudhury as PM Sheikh Hasina is currently on a visit to Japan.
Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom have confirmed their attendance. Reports from Islamabad said decision on Pakistan PM Sharif attending would be taken on Friday.
Rashtrapati Bhavan sources said coordination meetings for preparations for the ceremony were being chaired by Omita Paul, Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee, with security agencies, Delhi Police, officials of various ministries and BJP leaders. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his cabinet were sworn at the forecourts as was Chandrasekhar and his cabinet. BJP sources said nearly a dozen cabinet ministers could be sworn in along with Modi. They were tightlipped about the names of the cabinet ministers.
BJP leadership had requested the event be held at the forecourts and not the 'Durbar Hall' as the latter can accommodate only 500 people.