Chandigarh: Notwithstanding the bitter
political wrangling between them during the high-octane poll
process in Punjab, SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal has decided
to invite his political rival Congress` Amarinder Singh for
his swearing-in as chief minister for the fifth term.
Besides Amarinder, CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal`s
name also figures in the list of invitees for the swearing-in
ceremony on March 14 at Chappar Chiri in Ajit Singh Nagar
(Mohali) district.
Sources close to Badal said he will send formal
invitations to Punjab Congress top leaders urging them to
forget the traditional political rivalry.
In the letter of invite to be sent to the Congress
leaders, Badal has appealed to them to forget political
rivalry and start afresh for the larger interest of welfare
and development of the state, they said.
In the run up to the Assembly polls, allegations and
counter-allegations between Amarinder and Badal used to be
larger part of their speeches during public gatherings.
The long list of invitees also include Uttar Pradesh`s
newly-elected CM Akhilesh Yadav, his father and SP chief
Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, his
father and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, Himachal Pardesh CM
Prem Kumar Dhumal, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Gujarat
CM Narendra Modi, Madhya Pardesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan,
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Among others invited are BJP leaders L K Advani, Nitin
Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.
The SAD-BJP alliance got absolute majority in the
117-member House, winning 68 seats whereas opposition Congress
managed to get only 46 seats.
PTI
