Please Excuse Me: Mamata Banerjee opts out of PM Modi’s oath ceremony on May 30
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee taking U-turn opted from a swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for the second consecutive year at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Banerjee on Wednesday took to Twitter and said that she would not be attending the ceremony and accused BJP of spreading lies about political murders in West Bengal.
In her message, TMC chief attacked the BJP for spreading false stories about 54 of the party workers were murdered in political violence in Bengal. She also accused BJP of using the august ceremony to score political points.
“Congratulations, new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi ji. It was my plan to accept the 'Constitutional invitation' and attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, in the last hour, I am seeing media reports that the BJP is claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is untrue. There have been no political murders in Bengal. These deaths may have occurred due to personal enmity, family quarrels and other disputes; nothing related to politics. There is no such record with us.
The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party pic.twitter.com/Mznq0xN11Q
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 29, 2019
“So, I am sorry, Narendra Modi ji, this has compelled me not to attend the ceremony. This ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party which uses it as an opportunity to score political points. Please excuse me,” Mamata wrote on Twitter.
Recent concluded Lok Sabha election has witnessed a neck-to-neck fight between Modi and Banerjee who spearheaded the campaigns of their parties in West Bengal. In surprising poll results, in West Bengal by bagging 18 of the state's 42 seats, only four less than the TMC's 22. The saffron party leapt from two seats in the state in 2014 to 18, while the TMC slid to 22 from 34.
Also read: Arun Jaitley opts out of PM Modi's new Cabinet, cites ‘health challenges’
First published: 29 May 2019, 15:26 IST