New Parliament inauguration row Highlights: 25 parties to attend event, 20 to boycott

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the Opposition parties for clouding the “glorious” event with their “irresponsible” behaviour. Read here.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attcked PM Modi Thursday and alleged that the "arrogance" of the Modi government has "destroyed" the parliamentary system. "Mr Modi, Parliament is the temple of democracy established by the people. The office of the President is the first part of Parliament. The arrogance of your government has destroyed the parliamentary system," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.

JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda said Thursday that he will attend the event. “I will be attending the inauguration of the new building of Parliament House. That magnificent building was built with the tax money of the people of the country. It belongs to the country. It is not BJP or RSS office," he said.

As many as 25 parties are expected to attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday even as 20 Opposition parties have decided to boycott the event.

BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad recalled that the Congress did not attend the foundation-stone laying ceremony for the new Parliament building in December 2020. Read more.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said Thursday that the ‘sudden’ announcement to inaugurate Parliament building was not made with dignity. He also said...read more.

The Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance which will attend the Sunday event of the launch of new Parliament building include Shivsena (Shinde), Apna Dal and Assam Gan Parishad, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, National People’s Party, Meghalaya Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Jan-Nayak Party, AJSU, RPI, Mizo National Front, Tamil Maanila Congress, AIADMK, IMKMK, ITFT (Tripura), Bodo People’s Party, Pattali Makkal Kacchi, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

The non-NDA parties to attend the event include Lok Janshakti Party (Paswan), BJD, BSP, TDP and YSRCP , Akali Dal and JD(S).

BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur said slammed the Opposition parties Thursday and said "The construction of the new Parliament House so fast is a record in itself. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked with a new thought. If the President herself says that PM Modi should inaugurate, then what is wrong with it? The Prime Minister and President of the country are all together in this, so it is a matter of pride for the country."

"Opposition is against the development. The opposition feels that if they do not protest then their roots will be shaken. The opposition does not understand anything good or bad. The plans of the opposition will never be fulfilled," she said.

Former union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said, “This is most unfortunate and bankrupt politics. This is the hypocrisy of opposition parties to object and boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. The opposition needs to understand this is India's Parliament House. Three committees have inspected the current nearly 100-year-old Parliament House and they have reported that there has to be a new Parliament building. Congress never did it, and PM Modi has done it. Instead of appreciating it, they are boycotting the event.”

The plea in Supreme Court demanding that President Murmu inaugurate the new Parliament building states, “According to the Constitution, Parliament consists of the President of India and the two Houses of the apex legislature, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.”

"That Article 79 of the Constitution states that there shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and the two Houses--Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of People (Lok Sabha). But the Respondents are not following Indian Constitution," the PIL said.

Referring to Article 79 of the Constitution, it said, the President is an integral part of Parliamentary form of democracy and that the apex court's interference is required to save "democracy of this nation".

In the new Parliament, the Lok Sabha will have thrice the current seating capacity at 888 seats.

Classical dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, who wrote a letter on 'Sengol' to Prime Minister's Office, spoke about its significance Thursday and said, I feel elated that the Sengol will be placed in building of India's secular government…" Sengol will be installed by PM Modi during the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday.

The interiors of the new Parliament, which will be inaugurated on the weekend, will display art installations curated from different parts of the country.

Asaduddin Owaisi Wednesday echoed the same sentiments of the 20 opposition parties and took a swipe at the Centre over the new Parliament complex inaugural row. Read more.

Union minister Amit Shah Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party for their call to boycott the inaugural ceremony of the new Parliament complex on Sunday. Shah evoked multiple instances of Congress and other Opposition parties' rule when during such launch events, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and state chief ministers were given precedence instead of the governors.

“I will be meeting PM Modi and presenting the 'Sengol' to him on the inauguration of the new Parliament building,” said Sri Harihara Desika Swamigal, the 293rd head priest of Madurai Adheenam on Thursday. Read about its significance.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) slammed the boycott call of opposition parties of the new Parliament building’s inauguration on Sunday. Read more.

The Congress party on Thursday took a swipe at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati for her earlier tweet on the ongoing controversy over the inauguration of the new Parliament building. ongress's social media head Supriya Shrinate said…read more.

Bihar BJP President Samrat Chaudhary Thursday hit out at CM Nitish Kumar for opposing the inauguration of the new Parliament building by PM Modi, scheduled to take place Sunday. “He himself has inaugurated important complexes here (in Patna), so ideally he should take them down…”

Twitter saw a sharp increase in volume of tweets related to ‘new parliament buidling’, ‘Rashtrapati chunav (Presidential election)’ as the row over the launch of new complex continues. While the BJP and the Opposition parties continued to trade barbs, attacking each other on the issue, public sentiments on the row over of role of the PM and President on the constitutional framework also surfaced online.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at the opposition parties on Thursday over their decision to boycott the launch of new parliament and said, "Under the chairmanship of the esteemed Prime Minister of the Nation, Narendra Modi, the new Parliament, a symbol of India's democracy, will be dedicated to the country. It will be a proud moment for the entire country," he said. "On this historic occasion, the kind of comments and statements made by all the opposition parties, including the Congress, are extremely sad, irresponsible, and will weaken democracy", he added.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday questioned PM Modi and his government's decision to not invite President Droupadi Murmu to the event. In a tweet, he said, “Modi did not invite the then President Shri Ram Nath Kovind to lay the foundation stone of Lord Shri Ram temple. Modi did not invite Mr. Ramnath Kovind to lay the foundation stone of the new Parliament House. Now the present President is not even getting the inauguration of the new Parliament House done by the hands of Mrs. Draupadi Murmu. The SC and ST society across the country is asking whether we are considered inauspicious, is that why she was not invited?”

Telangana governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan Thursday waded into the row over the launch of new Parliament complex Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She reacted to the Opposition's demand that President, not the PM should preside over the cermony and said, “the state governments which do not respect the governors, are shedding crocodile tears today that the constitutional head was invited to the inauguration of the new Parliament building." She backed her statement citing the claim that she was neither informed nor invited to the inauguration of the Telangana new Secretariat.

Congress' Supriya Shrinate Thursday launched a scathing attack on BSP supremo Mayawati for labelling the boycott call – of the new Parliament building inauguration by nearly two dozen Opposition parties – as 'unfair'. It seems that the phone has reached sister. BSP supremo Mayawati ji in the field in defense of Modi government. The picture of the alliance in UP has become a bit more clear…," Shrinate tweeted, shortly after Mayawati extended BSP's support for the decision to have PM Modi launch the new complex on Sunday.

'Sengol', a historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu, will be installed by PM Modi in the new Parliament in inaugural event on Sunday. Read more about its significance.