NEW DELHI — After BJP failed to gain clear cut majority in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the swearing-in of Narendra Modi-led NDA government and said he will watch the T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan instead of the ceremony on Sunday evening.
“I have not been invited to the swearing-in, so I’ll be watching the match,” Tharoor, who won the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat for the fourth consecutive time, told news agency ANI.
Modi is set to take oath as the prime minister for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
Asked about the invitation extended to the neighbouring countries for the ceremony, Tharoor said it marks a good tradition.
“That’s a good tradition that was started in Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. But this time there’s one less. He has not invited Pakistan. So again, that also sends a signal,” he said.
The ceremony will be held at 7:15 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the Lok Sabha polls as its seat tally fell to 240 from 303, considerably short of the majority mark of 272.
