Pakistan not to be a part of Modi's oath taking ceremony

Prime Minister Modi's oath-taking ceremony scheduled to be held on Thursday at Rashtrapati Bhavan will witness the BIMSTEC member nations. However, Pakistan has not been invited in view of national interest, according to a former ambassador, OP Gupta. He also appreciated the government's initiative of giving more emphasis to the BIMSTEC nations as it will be profitable to the country.

New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected consecutively for the second time and with a huge majority at the centre, will be taking oath at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday. The leaders of the BIMSTEC member countries will attend the ceremony. However, Pakistan has not been invited for the same.

Former ambassador OP Gupta, while talking to ETV Bharat has appreciated the stand of the Modi government and termed it to be of national interest. Recalling the Late Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan for signing the Lahore agreement pertaining to the curbing of terror activities from across the border, he said that Pakistan has been violating the agreement since then.

He further said that PM Modi invited Nawaz Sharif in 2014 in a hope to begin a new chapter with Pakistan but to no results. So, it is obvious for the Prime Minister to look forward to the east.

Referring to BIMSTEC, the ambassador said that giving more emphasis to the BIMSTEC nations will help India in the economic and trade expansion and will also boost tourism.

Apart from the BIMSTEC nations, President of Kyrgyz and Mauritius have also been invited for PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony to be held on Thursday.

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