Even as YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy took oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on Thursday, he said that DMK chief and Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu MK Stalin would hopefully be sworn in as Chief Minister in the neighbouring state. Stalin had attended the oath-taking ceremony in Vijayawada, even as both leaders gave PM Modi’s swearing-in a miss.
According to one report in the Times of India, Jagan said, “With God’s blessing and my prayers, he (Stalin) will be sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu.” Stalin, who was seated on stage with other leaders, including Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, reportedly smiled back. The YSRCP chief had swept to power in Andhra Pradesh last week, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Legislative Assembly, in addition to 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Earlier on Thursday, Stalin had tweeted saying he was delighted to be at the event. “On behalf of the Tamil people and DMK, I wish him a successful tenure as Andhra Chief Minister filled with pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes in the footsteps of his father and former Chief Minister YSR.” he wrote.
Delighted to attend the swearing-in ceremony of @ysjagan at Vijayawada.
On behalf of the Tamil people and DMK, I wish him a successful tenure as Andhra Chief Minister filled with pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes in the footsteps of his father and former Chief Minister YSR. pic.twitter.com/VWkqoiXwBq
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 30, 2019
Despite emerging the third largest party in the Lok Sabha polls winning 37 of 38 seats in the state, it was reported that the DMK chief was not invited to the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi. Speaking to The Hindu, one senior DMK leader said, “We were not expecting an invitation from them and neither were we dying to attend it anyway. All parliamentarians as a norm are called for the events. Our invitation cards were dumped at the Tamil Nadu house and not sent individually to any of us.”
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and actor Rajinikanth were present to witness the oath-taking at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
Source: The News Minute