Trinamool to boycott swearing-in ceremony

The Trinamool Congress is likely to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minster-designate Narendra Modi, which is scheduled to take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on May 26. 

While there is no specification as to when the Trinamool MPs would take their oath, none of the 34 newly-elected representatives will be in Delhi on the said date, senior leaders said.

“We are not going to Delhi on May 26. All our MPs will attend an organisational meeting on May 30, when they will be introduced to the party functionaries. Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee will address the gathering,” party general secretary Mukul Roy told reporters.

While this seems to be an attempt to boycott Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, Roy did not wish to be drawn into any such speculations.

Even though Roy did not say whether the state government received an invitation to the ceremony, sources in the state government said that the invitation has reached the state secretariat.