Oppn skips swearing-in ceremony

NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders skipped Thursday���s swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

While BJP leader L K Advani as well as CPM���s Sitaram Yechury attended the oath-taking by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 19 Cabinet ministers last week, they were not present for the second round of swearing-in. Other Left leaders, including CPI���s A B Bardhan, who had missed even the first part, also did not attend Thursday���s ceremony.

Mr Advani did not attend the ceremony as he was preoccupied with party meetings, according to sources. However, Mr Yechury did not receive any invitation from the Rashtrapati Bhawan this time, according to CPM sources.

It was not just the Opposition leaders who kept away from the two-hour long ceremony. The Samajwadi Party, which has extended outside support to the Congress-led government, was not represented. SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh were apparently peeved over their experience at the previous swearing-in when chairs ran short in the magnificent Ashoka Hall. The SP leaders had to sit in the last row as there was confusion over the seating arrangement.

Others conspicuous by their absence were DMK���s Kanimozhi, who opted out of participation in government, and T R Baalu, who was denied a berth this time.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, who took oath as a cabinet minister, had skipped the first round of swearing-in as he had flown off to South Africa for the IPL finals after being told that his name would figure only in the second part.