Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
India on Saturday announced that leaders of seven countries from its neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Necessary arrangements have been made for the guests, including designated enclosures for the council of Ministers to be sworn in and the VVIPs, the officials said on Saturday.
Also read: Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony LIVE updates
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay have accepted invitations to the ceremony.
Mr. Prachanda will be accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, and high-ranking officials of the government of Nepal.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday that he would be honoured to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony and his first visit to India for the historic event would demonstrate that bilateral ties are heading in a “positive direction”.
This will mark the pro-China President’s first official visit to India since assuming office on November 17 last year. Unlike his predecessors, who made the first port of call to New Delhi after assuming office, Mr. Muizzu had travelled to Turkiye first and to China for his first state visit in January.
Munu Mahawar, India’s Higher Commissioner to the Maldives, presented the letter of invitation to Mr. Muizzu during a courtesy call at the President’s Office.
Mr. Muizzu expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the invitation, adding that he would be honoured to attend this historic event.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Muizzu had congratulated Modi and voiced his desire to work with the Indian prime minister to advance the bilateral ties. “Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi and the BJP and BJP-led NDA, on the success in the 2024 Indian General Election, for the third consecutive term.
Within hours of his oath in November last year, Mr. Muizzu had demanded the removal of 88-odd Indian military personnel from his country, straining bilateral ties. The military personnel were repatriated from three aviation platforms and replaced by civilians from India by the May 10 deadline set by Mr. Muizzu.
“The visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term is in keeping with the highest priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR’ vision,” Ministry of External Affairs said.
India has been cooperating with the countries of the Indian Ocean region under the broader policy framework of SAGAR or Security and Growth for all in the Region.
The leaders of regional grouping SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended Modi’s first swearing-in ceremony when he took the reins as the Prime Minister after a massive electoral victory for the BJP in 2014.
Leaders of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2019 when he became prime minister for the second consecutive term.
Surekha Yadav, the pilot of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Solapur Vande Bharat train in Maharashtra, is among 10 loco pilots of the Indian Railways who have also been invited to the ceremony.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan shared a video of the preparation for the grand ceremony which showed a large number of chairs being arranged and covered with white cloth and the laying of a red carpet.
A selected cuisine and speciality of the Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen would be served to the guests at a banquet to be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu after the swearing-in ceremony, the officials said.
The Delhi Police has imposed prohibitory orders and declared the national capital a no-flying zone for June 9 and 10 for the ceremony.
