Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi has invited the heads of the
governments of all South Asian states to attend his swearing-in on
Monday, in a gesture, which diplomats and experts said was without
precedent.
Though foreign envoys stationed in New Delhi have attended past swearings-in, Ministry of External Affairs sources said, no world leader has been invited to attend what has traditionally been seen as a domestic event.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs said, despatched formal invitations on May 21,2014 Wednesday afternoon to the Presidents or Prime Ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s President, has accepted the invitation but there was no immediate word on which other leaders would attend
Though foreign envoys stationed in New Delhi have attended past swearings-in, Ministry of External Affairs sources said, no world leader has been invited to attend what has traditionally been seen as a domestic event.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs said, despatched formal invitations on May 21,2014 Wednesday afternoon to the Presidents or Prime Ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s President, has accepted the invitation but there was no immediate word on which other leaders would attend
Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will
represent Bangladesh at the swearing in ceremony of Prime
Minister-designate Narendra Modi on May 26,2014
The
biggest swearing-in ceremony so far was that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
1998, which was also held in the forecourt, breaking away from the
tradition of hosting such events in either the Durbar Hall or Ashok
Hall.
This is
also the first time that the heads of state or government of eight
countries, including the seven Saarc states, will witness the
oath-taking ceremony of an Indian prime minister.
The
rarity of the occasion will be further expanded as President Pranab
Mukherjee will host a dinner for the foreign leaders soon after
administering the oath to Modi and his Council of Ministers.
Before
moving into the grey dining hall, the visiting foreign dignitaries will
use the opulent guest wing of the President’s House to get ready for
the last event.
For the first time, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will host a record 4,000 guests
It will be the third time that a
swearing-in ceremony will be held in the forecourt of Rashtrapati
Bhavan. The earlier two occasions were in 1990 when Chandra Shekhar was
sworn in and 1998, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath. All other
swearing-in ceremonies have either been held in Durbar Hall or Ashok
Hall
Around 1,200 guests attended Vajpayee’s oath-taking ceremony.
Massive security apparatus is in place for the grand swearing-in ceremony of PM-elect Narendra Modi.
Security
forces comprising teams of the National Security Guard (NSG), the Delhi
Police, the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Indian Air Force and
paramilitary forces will provide a four-layer security cover for the
event.
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