Modi's Swearing-In Ceremony: 7 ways in which the big oath day changed between 2014 and 2019
Five years later, Narendra Modi is taking oath again as Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan. But there are differences between 2014 and today.
1.). Attendees
In 2014, Modi's swearing-in ceremony was attended by around 5,000 people. Last time, Modi had invited all SAARC leaders — including the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and then-Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, both of whom had come to his oath-taking ceremony.
This year SAARC countries have been kept out, evidently as a delibrate measure to not invite Pakistan. Along with the leaders of BIMSTEC countries, which include Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, heads of states from Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius will also attend the ceremony.
2.). Pakistan
Five years ago, Narendra Modi had invited then-Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif for the swearing-in ceremony. Even though Sharif attended the ceremony — and became the first Pakistani PM to do so — he faced stiff opposition in Pakistan and bitter criticism over going to India and being part of Modi's swearing-in ceremony. Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's prime minister did not attend the event as she was travelling to Japan — and she's not attending the ceremony this year too.
This year, the invitation was not given to Imran Khan. The Pakistani PM had called Narendra Modi after the election results and congratulated him on his win — but Modi snubbed Pakistan and did not invite Imran, sending a strong message to our neigbhouring country that India will not budge before the scourge of cross-border terrorism.
3.). Special invitees
The family members of 50 BJP workers, whom the party claims were killed in political violence in West Bengal in the last one year, have also been invited as a gesture of showing respect to the martyrs. The party had booked train tickets for the families to reach Delhi for the ceremony in truly a first-of-its-kind.
Some family members, speaking with the media, said that they want to meet PM Modi and tell him what they have gone through.
4.). Venue
The 2014 swearing-in was held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, with around 4,000 people attending. This time too, the event is taking place at the forecourt — but with 8,000 guests, making this the biggest event Rashtrapati Bhavan has ever hosted.
5.). The forecourt
The Durbar Hall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan can accommodate only 500, whereas the forecourt can accommodate more than 8,000. The forecourt is lined with trees and water channels. On a regular basis, it is used for the ceremonial receptions of Presidents and Prime Ministers from visiting countries and different change of guard ceremonies.
Unlike the last time, when reportedly many of the attendes were not able to view the ceremony properly, this time, the seating has been elevated towards the rear to ensure that everyone gets a reasonably good view of the ceremony. The stage for the ceremony will be six feet high.
6.). Time
The ceremony has been shifted to an hour later — in 2014, the ceremony took place at 6 PM, but to beat the heat, the same ceremony has now been pushed to 7.
7.). Mamata Banerjee
The last time Mamata Banerjee, who had won 34 seats in the Lok Sabha, had also come and attended the swearing-in ceremony. But this year, Mamata has announced that she will not attend the function, owing, as speculation suggests, to her annoyance over the BJP making major in-roads into West Bengal.