New Delhi: People from the transgender community as well as sanitation workers and labourers, who were involved in the construction of the new parliament building, have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi and the new cabinet of ministers.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur said people who participated in ‘Mann ki baat’ and those involved in Vikshit Bharat Abhiyan and the NaMo app have also been invited to the ceremony.
They gathered at Thakur’s residence before proceeding to the ceremony.
BJP MP and former Social Justice and Empowerment minister Virendra Kumar felicitated the transgender community members at his residence. Meanwhile, BJP MP and former Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat felicitated the sanitation workers.
“This is a part of Prime Minister Modi’s call of ‘sabka saath sabka vishwas and sabha prayas’. Including people from the transgender community in the ceremony is to enhance the inclusivity message of the PM,” Kumar told media.
This is the first time that people from the transgender community are formally invited to the swearing-in ceremony. These participants have contributed to the empowerment of the transgender community, he said.
Former union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya felicitated 90 labourers and 30 sanitation workers involved in the construction of the new parliament building.
Sonam Kinnar from the UP BJP unit said she along with 50 members of the community have come here to give blessings to the new government.
“We are saddened that PM Modi did not receive the number of seats as expected due to caste-based politics but we have full confidence in our PM and the situation will improve,” she said.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Angad Kumar Paswan is among the nearly 90 construction workers working on the Central Vista redevelopment project who would be special invitees for the Modi 3.0 swearing-in ceremony.
“I am still not able to believe that I would be witnessing the grand oath taking ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” Paswan, a native of Garhwa District in Jharkhand, said as he held the invitation card close to his chest like a prized possession.
The workers said they were touched by the gesture.
Fifty-year-old Muni Thakur from Godda in Jharkhand thanked the Prime Minister for giving him such an opportunity. “We have never received such recognition and appreciation. I had never in my dream imagined that I would be a part of such a grand occasion.”
Thakur also expressed his desire of taking a selfie with the Prime Minister, if allowed, to preserve the memory.
Another worker, Anand Kumar Jaiswal, from Bihar said, “India will progress under Modi’s leadership. We want him to lead the country for the next 50 years. He has worked towards holistic development, taking people from every community along.”
Seema Pawan Bohat, 44, an MCD worker, said she cannot not wait to reach the venue.
“Have always seen Modiji on television. He definitely deserves to be the Prime Minister of the country for a third time. I never thought I would be a part of this memorable event. Nobody cared for us (sanitation workers) before this,” Bohat said.
Corporates, celebrities to attend
People from the business world, including Mukesh Ambani, Anant Ambani, Anand Piramal, Gautam Adani with his wife Priti Adani and brother Rajesh Adani, will be attending the ceremony.
Bollywood actors like Anupam Kher and Anil Kapoor will also attend the ceremony. Former JNU student leader Shehla Rashid will also take part.
Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
The 73-year-old will be equalling the feat of the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who won in the 1952, 1957 and 1962 general elections.
Leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region are among the dignitaries and special invitees expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister and his council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7.15 pm.
