BJD, SAD, YSRCP To Attend Inauguration Of New Parliament Building Amid Opposition's Boycott Call

With 19 Opposition political parties boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building, built as a part of India's Central Vista plan, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party on Wednesday released a statement confirming that its party members will attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28.

The BJD believes that Constitutional institutions should be above any issue which may affect their sanctity and honour, the regional party in a statement said here.

"The BJD shall be a part of this momentous occasion," it said. The party claims to be following a policy of maintaining equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress.

Earlier in the day, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal will attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building in Delhi on May 28, party leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, amid 19 Opposition parties announcing a boycott of the event.

The country is getting a new Parliament building and it is a moment of pride, and "we do not want any politics to be played at this time", Cheema said here in an apparent reference to the boycott by parties such as the AAP, the Congress and the TMC.

Ruling YSRCP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy also confirmed that his party will participate in the inauguration of the new Parliament building scheduled on May 28 while Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is yet to decide.

Terming this event as a historic one, the Chief Minister said YSRCP will attend it in the true spirit of democracry. ''In the true spirit of democracy, my party will attend this historic event,'' tweeted Reddy, congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dedicating a grand, majestic and spacious Parliament building to the nation.

Meanwhile, he called on political parties, many of which have decided to boycott the inauguration, to set aside all political differences, observing that boycotting such an auspicious event is not the true spirit of democracy.

The opening of the newly-built Parliament building is set to take place on Sunday (May 28) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the same.

As many as 19 opposition parties, including the Congress, Left, TMC, SP and AAP, came together on Wednesday and announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they find no value in a new building when the ''soul of democracy has been sucked out''.

The Opposition parties have said the prime minister's decision to inaugurate the building by himself, "completely sidelining President Droupadi Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response".