New Delhi, May 29: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi scheduled to take place on Thursday. Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister at the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 pm tomorrow. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will be accompanied by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi and BJP President Amit Shah repeatedly targetted Rahul and his father Rajiv Gandhi. Earlier today, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she will not attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in, alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using the ceremony "to score political points". "The oath-taking 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," Banerjee said in a social media post.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief's refusal came after media reports said at least 70 family members of slain BJP activists in West Bengal had been invited to the ceremony as "special guests". Congratulating Modi for taking over as the Prime Minister again, Banerjee said she did plan "to accept the constitutional invitation" and attend the oath-taking ceremony.

"However, in the past one hour, I am seeing media reports with the BJP claiming that 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal," she said. Calling the claim "completely untrue", she said: "There have been no political murders in Bengal."

The BJP, led by PM Modi, registered a historic victory in the Lok Sabha elections and won a clear mandate to retain power for a second term - a feat achieved only by the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in the past.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2019 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).