The ceremony will begin at 7 pm and will be attended by the leaders of the BIMSTEC member countries, in line with government’s 'Neighbourhood First' policy. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Narendra Modi, who was re-elected with majority for a second term as Prime Minister, will take oath at the Rashtrapati Bhawan along with new council of ministers on Thursday.

The ceremony will begin at 7 pm and will be attended by the leaders of the BIMSTEC member countries, in line with government’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.

BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a regional group of countries which include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The following leaders will attend the ceremony scheduled to take place on May 30 in Rashtrapati Bhawan:

• Abdul Hamid, President of Bangladesh
• Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka
• Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic
• U Win Myint, President of Myanmar
• Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius
• KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal
• Dr Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan

The Special Envoy of Thailand, Grisada Boonrach, will also attend the event.

Apart from BIMSTEC members, President of the Kyrgyz Republic and Prime Minister of Mauritius will also attend the ceremony.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, will miss the ceremony as she will be on a three-nation foreign visit.

Among the Indian leaders, chief ministers and Opposition leaders have been invited for the ceremony.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao have accepted the invitation.

Apart from leaders, sports legends Rahul Dravid, Saina Nehwal to superstars Rajinikanth, Shah Rukh Khan have also been invited to Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.

Business tycoons such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Ratan Tata have also been invited for the event.

Former sprinter P T Usha, cricketers Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, badminton coach Pulella Gopichand are among the sports personalities invited to the ceremony.

Several film stars, including Kangana Ranaut, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Bhansali, Karan Johar, Rajinikanth and others have also been invited.

IMF Managing Director and Chairman Christine Lagarde is also invited.

However, there was no confirmation on the invitees who have confirmed their presence.

This would be the fourth time a Prime Minister would take oath at the forecourt instead of the Durbar Hall. The Rashtrapati Bhawan will serve vegetarian fare ranging from samosa to Rajbhog and lemon tarts with high tea. The dinner will include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare, reported Economic Times.

A highlight of the dinner will be the signature ‘Dal Raisina’, preparations for which are already underway. This speciality of Rashtrapati Bhawan takes 48 hours to cook and the process started on Tuesday night.

During the 2014 swearing-in, leaders of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were invited and attended the ceremony.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance had won with a thumping majority in the Lok Sabha elections. Of the 542, the party won 352 seats.

 

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