The Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Communist Party of India announced on Tuesday that they would boycott the inauguration of new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28. Amid demands that the new building should be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu instead of the prime minister, more opposition parties are likely to stay away from the opening ceremony.
"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. Prime Minister Modi doesn't get that. For him, Sunday's inauguration of the new building is all about I, ME, MYSELF. So count us out," TMC MP Derek O'Brien wrote on Twitter.
AAP said the Modi government has insulted the President by not inviting her to inaugurate the new building. “This is also an insult to the tribals. The Aam Aadmi party will boycott the inauguration function in protest of Modi ji not inviting the President,” party MP Sanjay Singh said.
The opposition sources told PTI that most of the parties are of the view that they should unitedly skip the ceremony, and a final decision on the issue will be announced soon. They said a joint statement by all the floor leaders of like minded parties will be issued soon to announce a united boycott of the event.
The Congress and the BJP have been trading barbs on who should inaugurate the new parliament building, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday raising objections to President Murmu not being invited to the function.
"It looks like the Modi government has ensured the election of President of India from the dalit and the tribal communities only for electoral reasons," Kharge said.
Several other opposition parties including the NCP and the CPI(M), too, have criticised the government's decision. NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto wondered if it was not the right of President Murmu to inaugurate the new Parliament building for her being the head of the country.
"Our Parliament is our temple of democracy and the Constitutional head of our country is our President," he said, adding "Therefore is it not the right of our President to inaugurate the new Parliament House?"
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury accused Modi of "bypassing" the President for not just laying the foundation stone for the new parliament building but also by inaugurating it himself.
With PTI inputs