CM asks why Parl building not being inaugurated by President

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party has decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Thursday sought to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi why it was not being inaugurated by the President.

The Aam Aadmi Party had earlier this week said it will boycott the inauguration ceremony of the new parliament building on May 28. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the building.

“Why didn’t the prime minister get the new parliament (building) inaugurated by the President?,” Kejriwal asked in a tweet in Hindi.

The AAP said it was “upset” that the parliament building was not being inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu. “Several other opposition parties will also not attend the event. We will boycott the ceremony,” the party had said earlier.

As many as 19 opposition parties, including the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and AAP have decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they find no value in a new building when the “soul of democracy has been sucked out”.

Noting that the inauguration of the Parliament building is a momentous occasion, 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”.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denounced the exclusion of President of India Droupadi Murmu from the inauguration of the new Parliament building in New Delhi. They have called it a grave insult to the Dalits, Adivasis, and women of India.

Addressing the media, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar highlighted how India’s second Dalit President Ram Nath Kovind was also not invited when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the building. Whereas, AAP MLA Rakhi Birla noted that this incident highlights the ongoing atrocities faced by SC and ST communities under BJP rule.

“As the first citizen of the country and the supreme constitutional authority, Hon’ble President Droupadi Murmu deserved the rightful honour of inaugurating the new Parliament building. It is a matter of deep concern that she was not even extended an invitation to the inauguration. The exclusion of President Droupadi Murmu from the inauguration is a grave insult to the Dalits, Adivasis, and women of this nation. It reflects the anti-Dalit, anti-Adivasi, and anti-women mindset of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been proven time and again. Today, there is widespread discontent among the Dalit and Adivasi communities over this matter,”

said Kuldeep.

Birla also expressed serious concerns about the insult inflicted upon the esteemed position of the President of India. She highlighted that this incident, once again, brings to light the ongoing atrocities faced by marginalised communities in states ruled by the BJP.

She said, “It is disheartening to witness how Dalits and Adivasis continue to suffer from relentless atrocities, especially under the governance of the Bharatiya Janata Party in various states. It is alarming that the BJP-led governments in these states turn a deaf ear to these injustices.”