Four Parties To Boycott Inauguration Of New Parliament Building

Four political parties have said that they would skip the inauguration of the new Parliament building which will take place on May 28.

The TMC, AAP, CPI(M) and CPI said that they have decided to skip the inaugural of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More Opposition parties including the Congress too are likely to boycott the inaugural.

The Opposition parties have alleged a Constitutional breach and said that President of India, Draupadi Murmu should have been invited for the inauguration of the building.

The Congress is yet to announce its decision. Party sources however told OneIndia that it is likely to stay away from from the inauguration. A joint statement of Opposition parties is likely to be made in this regard soon.

The Congress and several other Opposition parties had skipped the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Parliament building in December 2020 too.

The TMC and AAP announced its boycott decision following a meeting of Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. Kejriwal is seeking support against the Ordinance by the Centre on control of administrative services in the capital. Banerjee assured that her party would oppose the bill in Parliament.

"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," TMC leader Derek O'Brien said in a tweet.

"The BJP is directly insulting the President who is also a woman and a Scheduled Tribe. The building is also not completed yet, so what explains this hurry for the inauguration," he also said.

"How can we associate with such an endeavour that sidelines the President of India and links itself with the memory of Savarkar? Those who cherish the values of parliamentary democracy and secularism can only keep away from this majoritarian adventurism," said CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswa.