BIMSTEC leaders invited to attend PM Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony on May 30: MEA

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affair (MEA) on Monday informed that top leaders from the BIMSTEC member states have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers on May 30.

The oath ceremony is scheduled to be held around 7 PM at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 30 during which President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to PM Modi and his ministers.

Replying to a question on the invitation extended by the Government of India to foreign leaders for the PM Modi's swearing-in-ceremony, the MEA spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar said that ''leaders of the BIMSTEC Member States have been invited for the event.''

"The Government of India has invited the leaders of the BIMSTEC Member States for the Swearing-in ceremony. This is in line with the Government's focus on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is the current Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, who was the Chief Guest at this year's Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, have also been invited,'' the MEA official spokesperson said.

''We will keep the media abreast of further details in due course," he added.

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan are among the BIMSTEC member states. 

The President's Office had on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be administered the oath of office for his second term along with his new Council of Ministers on May 30.

President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the PM and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 PM, an official communique said.

PM Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for the second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. 

From BJP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also elected as the prime minister for two consecutive terms, but his first stint had lasted only for one year and seven months.

Names of the ministers who would join PM Modi in his second innings is yet to be disclosed, though there has been speculation about some new members expected to join the council, including from states like West Bengal that played a key role in the BJP's massive victory in the just-held Lok Sabha elections.

PM Modi had stunned everyone during 2014 swearing-in when he had called SAARC leaders, including the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.

The 2014 swearing-in was held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan with around 2,000 people including foreign dignitaries invited for Modi's oath ceremony, which was administered by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.

Several global leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have congratulated Modi on his resounding victory.