New Delhi (India): Kin of the BJP workers who were allegedly killed in political violence in West Bengal arrived here to take part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony scheduled to be held on Thursday evening. Fifty-four family members reached New Delhi Railway Station at around 10:25 am by the Howrah-Rajdhani Express. They were accompanied by some BJP state unit leaders. They will stay at Kalibari guest house in Gol Dakkhana area at Mandir Marg in New Delhi and will participate in the swearing-in ceremony at 7 pm at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
A man, whose father was killed in poll violence allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters, said that he felt great to be invited by the Prime Minister. Backtracking on her earlier stance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday declined to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony objecting to the invitation extended to families of BJP workers allegedly killed in political violence in the state.
She contested the allegations saying no political murders took place in Bengal during the elections. Reacting to Mamata’s decision to stay away from the ceremony, one of the family members who reached Delhi said, “How will she (Mamata) come? She knows if she will come here, she will have to face the victims. What answer will she give? She did not come because she knows she could not face us.”
All seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal were marred by violence, with both the BJP and the TMC trading blame over the issue. BJP has made deep inroads into the Trinamool citadel by winning 18 Lok Sabha seats and cutting the TMC down to size by limiting its win in only 22 seats against 34 it bagged in 2014. In the Lok Sabha polls, BJP secured a clear majority with 303 seats, while Congress was at a distant 52.