New Delhi: Nineteen opposition parties, including the Congress and Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party, said Wednesday morning they intend to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building in Delhi this weekend and criticised an ‘authoritarian prime minister and his government’.
“When the soul of democracy has been sucked out Parliament, we find no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. We will continue to fight – in letter, in spirit, and in substance – against this authoritarian Prime Minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India.”
The opposition parties said that despite differences with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party they had been open to ‘sinking our differences and marking this occasion’ but said ‘prime minister Narendra Modi’s decision to inaugurate the Parliament building by himself, completely sidelining president (Droupadi) Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy…”
Referring to the Constitution’s Article 79, the opposition parties said Murmu ‘is not only the Head of State but also an integral part of the Parliament’.
“She summons, prorogues, and addresses the Parliament. She must assent for an Act of Parliament to take effect. In short, the Parliament cannot function without the president. Yet, the prime minister has decided to inaugurate the new Parliament building without her,” the opposition parties declared.
The joint statement by the opposition – which has steadily united against the BJP, particularly since the controversial disqualification from Lok Sabha of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ case – also accused Modi of having ‘relentlessly hollowed out the Parliament’.
