CM Mamata Banerjee to attend swearing-in ceremony of Hemant Soren: TMC

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Hemant Soren as Jharkhand chief minister in Ranchi on December 29, TMC sources said. With top opposition leaders of the country scheduled to attend the programme, Soren's swearing-in ceremony is likely to be a "show of unity" in the wake of countrywide protests against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed pan-India NRC.

"We share a very good relationship with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Hemant Soren. So far, it has been decided that our party supremo along with some senior leaders would attend Soren's swearing-in ceremony on December 29," a senior TMC leader said. The ceremony will be more of a "show of strength and unity of opposition leaders", he said.

"This would send out a very crucial political message in the wake of ongoing unrest across the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act," another senior TMC leader said. Banerjee, earlier this week, had written to all opposition leaders and chief ministers to unite and fight together against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed NRC.

Soren was projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance in the recent Jharkhand assembly elections. The three-party alliance has won 47 of the state's 81 seats. The JMM won 30 seats, Congress 16 and RJD one. The BJP clinched 25 seats, the AJSU Party two, the JVM (P) three and others four.

-PTI

Also Read: Madhya Pradesh: 15-year-old girl raped in bus, 3 arrested