NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday took a jibe at Narendra Modi‘s swearing-in ceremony after the BJP failed to secure a clear majority in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Tharoor stated that he would watch the India-Pakistan match instead of attending the ceremony, as he had not been invited.
“I have not been invited to the swearing-in, so I’ll be watching the (India vs Pakistan) match,” Tharoor said.
The match is scheduled to take place on June 9 at around 8 PM IST in the United States, while Modi’s swearing-in ceremony is set for 7:15 PM on the same day.
As PM Modi prepares to take the oath as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, several leaders and State heads from the neighbourhood region and Indian Ocean region have been invited as distinguished guests.
“President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe; President of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu; Vice-President of Seychelles, Ahmed Afif; Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth; Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’; and Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, have accepted the invitation to attend,” the MEA said in a statement.
Speaking about India-Maldives ties, Tharoor acknowledged the significance of inviting the Maldives despite recent controversies and expressed confidence in the potential meeting between Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Prime Minister Modi after the ceremony. He also noted that India has invited its neighbouring countries, except Pakistan, which sends a signal.
“It’s good that at least the Maldives is at least making the effort to come here and speak. They have not been particularly friendly or receptive to our interests for some time now. This particular president is coming here for the first time. I am assuming that the visit will be taken advantage of for some meetings on the side as well,” he said.
“That’s a good tradition that was started in Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. But this time there’s one less. He has not invited Pakistan. So again, that also sends a signal,” the Congress MP added.
(With inputs from agencies