Mamata Banerjee to not attend PM's swearing-in cites political violence

Kolkata:West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she will not be attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony as it is "an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party".

Banerjee said she had planned to accept the "ceremonial invitation" but following gross misrepresentation of facts about 54 deaths in poll violence, she decided to skip the oath-taking ceremony to be held on Thursday.

About the violence, she stated in her tweet that there has been "no political murders in Bengal". There might have been deaths due to personal enmity, family quarrel and other disputes, she said. "But nothing related to politics. There is no such recors with us," she added.

She said such turn of events has "compelled" her not to attend the ceremony.