Kerala, Karnataka Cong CMs to boycott Modi's swearing-in

Kerala, Karnataka Cong CMs to boycott Modis swearing-in
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Congress chief ministers of Karnataka and Kerala are not attending tomorrow’s swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister while there was suspense on whether Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will participate

Congress chief ministers of Karnataka and Kerala are not attending tomorrow’s swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister while there was suspense on whether Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will participate amid reports that she has decided to boycott it.

In Bangalore, officials said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will skip the oath-taking ceremony in Delhi tomorrow.

According to schedule released by the Chief Minister’s office for tomorrow, Siddaramaih will be attending several programmes in the city.
Wishing Modi the all the best, Siddaramaih had last week hoped of cooperation from the center adding that irrespective of party affiliations the union government should work in accordance with the Constitution and respect the federal set up.
In Thiruvananthapuram, officials said Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is not attending the swearing-in ceremony, citing pre-scheduled engagements in the state.
According to officials in the Chief Minister’s Office, Chandy had received the invitation for the ceremony but informed Modi about his inability to be present on the occasion due to “pressing” engagements in the state.
Chandy, a senior Congress leader, will be meeting Modi during his next visit to Delhi, they said. Senior BJP leader O Rajagopal termed Chandy’s decision to skip the ceremony as “unfortunate”.
Jayalalithaa, who has opposed participation of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, today kept up the suspense overher participation in the ceremony. There were reports that she is likely to boycott it.
However, till late in the evening there was no official statement from the government or the ruling AIADMK on either her participation or whether she would depute any emissary.
Last week, Jayalalithaa dubbed as “unfortunate” Modi’s invitation to Rajapaksa for his swearing-in, saying the “ill-advised” move could have been avoided as it amounted to “rubbing salt into the wounds of the already deeply injured Tamil psyche.”
She had recalled the various resolutions passed in the state Assembly demanding an economic embargo on Sri Lanka among others over the alleged war crimes by the island nation’s Army under the Rajapaksa Government against Tamils there during the final stages of “civil war”. Jayalalithaa and Modi had attended the swearing-in of each other as Chief Minister in the past.
Though the two leaders attacked each other during the final stages of the Lok Sabha poll campaign, they exchanged pleasantries over their respective emphatic wins last week, in a sign of warming up.
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