List of parties that will boycott new Parliament inauguration

19 like-minded opposition parties have rallied up against the Centre on the inauguration event and released a joint statement showing discontent against Centre

Updated on: May 24, 2023, 13:13:46 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United) and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday joined the league to boycott the inauguration of new Parliament building arguing that it should be the President and not the Prime Minister who launches the new building.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a surprise visit to the new Parliament building, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI )

Also read: ‘If Indira, Rajiv Gandhi can’: Hardeep Puri defies Congress' new Parliament launch dig

A total of 19 like-minded opposition parties have rallied up against the Centre on the inauguration event and released a joint statement showing discontent against PM Modi's decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building by himself, ‘completely sidelining President Droupadi Murmu’. They claimed that this decision is ‘not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy’.

"We have decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building... Not asking the President to inaugurate the building is an insult to her," RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told reporters.

On Tuesday, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (CPI), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and CPI(Marxist) announced they will skip the inauguration ceremony.

"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. Prime Minister 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 MP Derek O'Brien said in a tweet.

Also read: 'President not member': BJP's defence vs Opposition's jibe on new Parliament building

Dismissing claims over launching the new Parliament building by the President, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri reminded the inauguration of Parliament annex and library by then PMs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

“In August 1975, then PM Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament annexe, and later in 1987 PM Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament library. If your (Congress) head of government can inaugurate them, why can't our head of government do the same,” he said.

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