West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, 28 May, that she will “try to attend” Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony on 30 May.
Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, Banerjee said:
“I have spoken to a few people. I have spoken to a few chief ministers too. We all decided together that since it is a formal ceremony and programme, we will try to attend… This is a ceremonial programme – the Constitution includes some ceremonial programmes which are Constitutional formalities and fall within Constitutional rights. I, as a chief minister – and other chief ministers too, when we are invited to such oath-taking ceremonies of prime ministers and presidents, we often try to attend. So, I will try to attend.”Mamata Banerjee
The state CM said that the invitation for the ceremony arrived on Tuesday itself.
Banerjee’s comments come on a day when TMC MLAs Subhranshu Roy and Tusharkanti Bhattacharjee, and CPM MLA Devendra Roy joined the BJP along with 50-60 councillors. Subhranshu is the son of BJP leader Mukul Roy and had been suspended by TMC recently.
Banerjee and PM Modi were at loggerheads during the campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP made massive inroads into West Bengal in the general elections, winning 18 seats, as compared to Trinamool Congress’ 22. The Congress bagged just two seats, while the Left drew a blank.
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