TMC, BJP Trade Barbs on Modi's Swearing-in Day

Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim predicted that the NDA coalition government would not last long. He said that the NDA government would be short-lived and labelled the swearing-in as "temporary."

Kolkata:War of words between the TMC and the BJP broke out on Sunday, hours before Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third term. While Kolkata mayor and TMC leader Firhad Hakim predicted that the NDA coalition government would not last long, BJP leader Arjun Singh suggested that Hakim should be more concerned about his political future.

Singh, who was defeated by the TMC in West Bengal's Barrackpore constituency, confirmed that he had received an invitation to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. Echoing party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's stance, Hakim told reporters that the NDA government would be short-lived and labelled the swearing-in as "temporary."

On Saturday, Banerjee had asserted that the INDIA bloc may not have staked a claim to form the government now, but that did not mean it will not do so later. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the TMC MPs and senior leaders, Banerjee said her party would adopt a "wait and watch" approach and expressed her hope that the "weak and unstable" BJP-led NDA government would be removed from power.