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Mallikarjun Kharge to skip flag hoisting event at New Parliament building tomorrow. Here's why

The flag hoisting ceremony at the New Parliament building is scheduled a day before the five-day special session beginning on Monday.

Published on: Sep 16, 2023, 22:36:47 IST
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Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, on Saturday said he will not be able to attend the flag hoisting ceremony at the New Parliament building on Sunday due to the two-day Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Hyderabad.

Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI)
Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI)

In a letter to Rajya Sabha secretary general PC Mody, Kharge said that he received the invite for the function “only late evening on September 15".

Also read: Kharge attacks govt for diverting attention from basic issues by coining slogans

"I am writing this letter with a sense of disappointment that I have received your invite for flag hoisting function tomorrow at New Parliament Building only on September 15, 2023, quite late in the evening. This is to inform you that meetings of the newly constituted Congress Working Committee have been scheduled for today and tomorrow i.e. 16 and 17 September, respectively at Hyderabad," the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha wrote.

He added, “Since the programmes had been fixed much in advance, I am presently in Hyderabad to hold meetings. As I will return to Delhi late night on 17 September, it will not be feasible for me to attend the function scheduled for tomorrow morning.”

The flag hoisting ceremony is scheduled a day before the five-day special Parliament session beginning on Monday. Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar is set to hoist the national flag at the new Parliament building which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28.

Also read: HT Interview: If Opposition fights together, we are going to succeed, says Congress chief Kharge

Earlier, the Congress also expressed its displeasure over the late invitation to Kharge saying that the Centre purposely sent it at the last moment since they were “aware of the pre-scheduled meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Hyderabad on September 16-17,” reported news agency ANI citing sources.

CWC resolutions

Meanwhile, the CWC on Saturday adopted a resolution to make the opposition's INDIA bloc an “ideological and electoral success” to free the country from “divisive politics” and ensure that people get a government that is sensitive and accountable. It also pledged to restore “a nation of which every Indian, irrespective of caste or religion, rich or poor, young or old, can be proud”.

The party's top decision-making body also passed a condolence resolution and expressed grief to the people of Himachal Pradesh who suffered a massive destruction due to the recurrent landslides and heavy rainfall, as well as on the Manipur violence.

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