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‘Like a bouncer’: Himanta Sarma's dig at Opposition amid new Parliament launch row
Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that the Opposition was “enacting the drama of boycott” to “save their face."
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday took a potshot at 19 opposition parties which have decided to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building, saying “they never thought that the construction will be completed so soon.”
Sarma also alleged that the Opposition was “enacting the drama of boycott” to “save their face."
“So, everything has happened like a bouncer for the Opposition. Just to save their face, they are enacting the drama of boycott... Parliament House will open on the day associated with Veer Savarkar. That might be another reason for them to oppose or boycott the function,” news agency ANI quoted the Assam CM as saying.
A total of 19 parties issued a joint statement calling for the boycott of the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building on May 28 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statement read, “When the soul of democracy has been sucked out Parliament, we find no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. We will continue to fight - in letter, in spirit, and in substance - against this authoritarian Prime Minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India.”
It added, “Murmu 'is not only the Head of State but also an integral part of the Parliament… In short, the Parliament cannot function without the president. Yet, the prime minister has decided to inaugurate the new Parliament building without her.”
As many as 19 opposition parties, including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), the two factions of the Communist Party of India - CPI and CPIM (M), Janata Dal-United (JDU), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress (Mani), have decided to boycott the event.
