After Mamata Banerjee, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to also skip PM Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on May 30

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will not attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath taking ceremony on May 30th, the CMO of state informed on Wednesday.

This comes after Mamata Banerjee gave a statement saying that she would not attend the oath-taking ceremony of PM Modi saying that the event was being used to score political points. 'The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party,' she tweeted, pointing to reports which said that the BJP had claimed there were political murders in West Bengal that took lives of 54 people.

READ | Mamata Banerjee To Skip PM Modi's Swearing In, Writes "I Am Sorry, Narendra Modi Ji, This Has Compelled Me To Not Attend The Ceremony" Over Reports On Political Violence Deaths. Read Statement

Modi will be sworn in for a second term as the Prime Minister on Thursday at 7 pm in Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with his Council of Ministers. The two leaders were at loggerheads at more than one occasions during the campaign period in the run-up to the elections.

The ceremony is expected to be attended by thousands of dignitaries from the Centre and the states. Chief Ministers of all states, state unit chiefs of BJP, state ministers, present members of Parliament, former members of the Parliament have been invited for the oath-taking ceremony.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-elect Jagan Mohan Reddy have also reportedly been invited for the ceremony.

As per sources to Republic Media Network, it is likely that Rahul Gandhi will not attend the ceremony following which Congress chief ministers of states will also give the swearing-in a miss.

Adding to the already hefty list of attendees of PM-elect Modi's swearing-in, foreign leaders from the member states of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) namely Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand , Nepal and Bhutan are reportedly attending the ceremony.

In response to a question on confirmation of foreign leaders attending the Swearing-in-Ceremony of the Prime Minister of India on Thursday, 30 May 2019, the Official Spokesperson said:

“The following leaders have confirmed their participation at the swearing in ceremony of the Prime Minister: H.E. Mr. Md. Abdul Hamid, President of Bangladesh; H.E. Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka; H.E. Mr. Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; H.E. Mr. U Win Myint, President of Myanmar; The Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius; Rt. Hon. K.P. Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal; H.E. Dr. Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan; and H.E. Mr. Grisada Boonrach, Special Envoy of Thailand.

We look forward to receiving the dignitaries in New Delhi for the ceremony. We will keep you abreast of any related developments, including bilateral engagements, in due course."

As per sources to Republic Media Network, Superstar Rajinikanth and actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan have reportedly been invited for the swearing-in of Narendra Modi for the second term.

READ | All Details Of PM Modi's Swearing-in: Huge Turnout Of World Leaders, MPs, State CMs Expected To Attend