Four Opposition parties to boycott new Parliament building inauguration

The Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI and Rashtriya Janata Dal have announced their decision. The Congress is also mulling a boycott.

May 24, 2023 - 10:30

Four Opposition parties to boycott new Parliament building inauguration

The Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India and Rashtriya Janata Dal have decided to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building on May 28, The Hindu reported on Tuesday.

The Congress was also mulling a boycott of the event and the Opposition parties could issue a joint statement on the matter, according to The Indian Express.

The Congress has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to inaugurate the building, saying that not inviting President Droupadi Murmu, the Centre has reduced the highest constitutional post to “tokenism”. Opposition parties have also taken exception to holding the inauguration ceremony on the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.

Several Opposition parties had also skipped the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Parliament building in December 2020.

On Tuesday, Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien announced his party’s decision to not attend the ceremony on Twitter.

“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,” he tweeted. “PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, ME, MYSELF. So count us out.”