E-Paper
Assam CM Himanta counters Parliament launch row with a list: ‘not a single instance’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28.
Amid the brewing controversy over the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday reminded the opposition parties that no governor or President had been invited by non-BJP governments for laying the foundation stones of or inaugurating new legislative assembly buildings in the last nine years. The chief minister listed five instances where either the chief minister or the party president and not the governor was invited to do the honours.
“In the last 9 years - 5 non-BJP / Opposition state governments either laid foundation stones or inaugurated a new Legislative Assembly building,” Sarma said in a tweet.
“All were done by either the Chief Minister or the Party President. In not a single instance was the Governor or President invited,” he added.
The instances mentioned by the chief minister include laying the foundation stone of the Assembly buildings in Jharkhand and Assam in 2014, in Andhra Pradesh in 2018, in Chhattisgarh in 2020, and in Telangana in 2023.
Earlier today, Sarma hit out at the Opposition parties claiming that the inauguration of the new Parliament building was something that they did not expect to happen soon.
Speaking to reporters, Sarma said, "The boycott is obvious. They opposed the construction of Parliament House. They never thought that the construction will be completed so soon. 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," the chief minister added.
In a show of unity, 19 opposition parties on Wednesday announced their decision to skip the inauguration of the new Parliament building, saying they find no value in a new building when the "soul of democracy has been sucked out". The opposition parties in a joint statement said, “despite our belief that the government is threatening democracy, and our disapproval of the autocratic manner in which the new Parliament was built, we were open to sinking our differences and marking this occasion.”
However, Prime Minister Modi's decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building by himself, “completely sidelining President Droupadi Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response.”
The Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, Janata Dal (United), AAP, CPI-M, CPI, SP, NCP, SS (UBT), RJD, IUML, JMM, NC, KC (M), RSP, VCK, MDMK, RLD are the signatories of the joint statement.
Apart from these 19 parties, All India Majili-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi also said his party skip the ceremony if the new Parliament building is launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I still hope that the Prime Minister of this country will show his large-heartedness, and would show his love for the Constitution. As a true constitutionalist, if he is, then he should allow the Lok Sabha Speaker to inaugurate the new Parliament. And if he (the Speaker) does, then of course, MIM will be there.
"(Modi) wants to inaugurate everything. Because BJP believes that nothing happened before 2014. Then we will not attend that function,” he told reporters.
