National Desk, 24 May: The opposition parties have reportedly agreed to skip the ceremony to inaugurate the nation’s capital’s newly constructed Parliament building, according to reports that surfaced on Wednesday.
The newly erected New Delhi Parliament building is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 28 but a number of opposition parties have have abstained to attend the event.
The parties who have decided to boycott the inaugural event are- Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Left, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal-United (JDU), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction including many others.
It is known that the opposition parties have made the decision to skip the celebration as it will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of President of India Droupadi Murmu.
Several political parties have criticized prime minister for this, drawing backlash. Similar opposition parties also issued a unified statement urging people to skip the event.
AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said, “President is the Constitutional Head of India. It is bizarre to NOT let President lay the foundation stone or inaugurate the new Parliament. Disrespect for Head of the Union is disrespect for our Constitution. Therefore, AAP will boycott the inauguration ceremony in protest.”
TMC leader Derek O’Brien said, “Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules- it is the foundation of Indian democracy. PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, ME, MYSELF. So count us out.”