‘MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan…help save our Republic’: Mahua Moitra's dig at new Parliament launch

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre over the new Parliament inauguration ceremony.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre over the new Parliament inauguration ceremony held on Sunday, asking Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan - who will be going to polls this year - to “help save the Republic”. She called the BJP leaders “bigots” and asked the three states to “show them their place”.

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra (PTI)

Sharing a picture from PM Modi's ‘Sengol’ installation ceremony on Twitter, the TMC MP quoted a line from Jawaharlal Nehru's ‘A Tryst with Destiny’ speech - “The noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell” - and said, “The King has reduced this vision to an ignoble hutment of narrow domestic walls.”

Around 20 opposition parties boycotted the event over the prime minister and not the president inaugurating the building. Several parties have also slammed PM Modi and compared the inauguration with the coronation of a monarch.

During the inaugural ceremony, PM Modi installed a historical sceptre called ‘Sengol’ was installed in Parliament's Lok Sabha chamber - placed next to the Speaker's chair. This is the same ‘Sengol’ which was accepted by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence on the night of August 14, 1947, in the presence of several leaders.

The new Parliament House has a built-up area of 64,500 sqm and has two chambers – the 888-seater Lok Sabha, which can accommodate 1,272 members for the joint sitting of both the Houses, and the 384-seater Rajya Sabha chamber. It also has around 5,000 artworks, including paintings, wall panels, stone sculptures, and metal murals.