NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Saturday said that the INDIA bloc will collectively take a call on attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minter Narendra Modi and his council of ministers which is scheduled for Sunday evening.
After a key meeting of extended Congress Working Committee, party’s general secretary K C Venugopal said, “The INDIA bloc will collectively take the decision on attending the ceremony.”
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a sharp jibe at PM Modi and the Bhartiya Janata Party and added that only international leaders have been invited for the swearing-in-ceremony and the opposition leaders are yet to receive invitations.
“Only international leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony. Our leaders have not received the invitation yet. If and when our INDIA bloc leaders receive the invitation, we will think about it,” he said.
India has invited Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth; Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay.
According to MEA, in addition to participating in the swearing-in ceremony, the leaders will attend a banquet hosted by President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the same evening.
Meanwhile, Congress Working Committee unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to take the position of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.
“All the participants agreed that Rahul should take over the LoP post. During elections we raised the issues of unemployment, price rise, women’s equality and social justice. These issues need to be raised in a greater manners inside Parliament. Rahul is the best person to lead this campaign inside Parliament,” Venugopal said.