Even as a host of VVIPs, including heads of states and leaders of The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Member States have been invited by the Government of India (GoI) for the Prime Minister’s swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, one very special family stands out.
The family members of Sudip Biswas, one of the CRPF personnel, who lost his life in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, arrived in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Sudip Biswas’s mother says, “We have been invited to attend the event. Despite being in sorrow we have come here.”
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, who will take oath for his second consecutive term, visited Rajghat, Sadaiv Atal Samadhi and National War Memorial. Modi reached the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at 7 am and paid his respects, before heading to Sadaiv Atal Samadhi, the lotus-shaped memorial dedicated to late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Modi’s next stop was the National War Memorial, a monument near India Gate dedicated to soldiers killed in service of the nation.
The swearing-in ceremony will begin at 7 pm in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, and nearly 8,000 guests are scheduled to attend the event. Among the guests will be leaders of BIMSTEC countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
Many chief ministers, party leaders, industry leaders, diplomats, ambassadors, celebrities and Opposition members will be present too. The Congress has confirmed that party president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the swearing-in. More than 100 non-resident Indians will be there too, according to reports.