Trump and Putin among top world leaders to attend PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony?

US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among top world leaders who are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP is likely to invite leaders from the United Nations (UN) Security Council's five permanent members - the US, Russia, the UK, France and China), Germany, Japan and Israel. The invites will also be sent to prominent leaders of Organisations of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.

All the global leaders have congratulated PM Modi for his undisputed victory in the Lok Sabha elections. The world leaders attending PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony will also boost his image as a powerful leader of the world's biggest democratic country. But there are some questions on whether an invite will be sent to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan after the deadly Pulwama terror attack.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that no decision has been made over the invites. They said that the invites would only be issued after a decision is taken over the matter by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). This will also come at a time when India is pushing for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

Modi is the third Prime Minister to return to office after completing a full term after the nation's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Congress leader Manmohan Singh.