Special Invitees From West Bengal To Attend PM's Swearing in Ceremony
The families of over 50 BJP workers allegedly killed in political violence in West Bengal have been invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath ceremony. The families have been designated as "special invitees". The special invitees have been given special place among 7,000 invitees to PM Modi's second swearing in ceremony. BJP leaders have stated that the invitation is meant to convey to the party's cadre in Bengal that the central leadership stands by them against "violence by Trinamool Congress workers". The BJP has scored 18 seats in Lok sabha elections as compared to from two in 2014 while the Trinamool dropped sharply from 34 to 22 of Bengal's 42 seats. On Tuesday nearly 60 defectors from Trinamool, including two lawmakers joined the saffron brigade. The party said that more would join them in a total of seven rounds, further weakening Mamata Banerjee's grip on the state. Mamata Banerjee has confirmed receiving an invite to PM Modi's oath and indicated that she would go attend it.
