In collective protest, 19 Opposition parties to boycott Parliament opening

In a joint protest indicating a sign of things to come, 19 opposition parties on Wednesday (May 24) pledged to boycott the opening of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has insulted President Droupadi Murmu by not inviting her to the inauguration.

“The President is not only the Head of State in India 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,” the parties said in a four-para statement.

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“Yet, the Prime Minister has decided to inaugurate the new Parliament building without her. This undignified act insults the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” they said.

The signatories to the statement include the Congress, DMK, AAP, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, CPI, JMM, Kerala Congress (Mani), VCK, RLD, TMC, JD(U), NCP, CPI(M), RJD, IUML, National Conference, RSP and MDMK.

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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi termed the decision “unfortunate” and urged them to reconsider their stand. “Boycotting and making an issue out of a non-issue is most unfortunate,” Joshi in New Delhi. He said the Lok Sabha Speaker was the custodian of Parliament and he had invited the prime minister to inaugurate the building.

Modi berated

The statement went on: “Undemocratic acts are not new to the Prime Minister, who has relentlessly hollowed out parliament. Opposition MPs have been disqualified, suspended and muted when they raised the issues of the people of India. MPs from the Treasury benches have disrupted parliament.

“Many controversial legislations, including the three farm laws, have been passed with almost no debate, and Parliamentary Committees have been practically made defunct. The new Parliament building has been built at great expense during a once-in-a-century pandemic with no consultation with the people of India or MPs for whom it is apparently being built.

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“When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the 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.”

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Insulting president

The opposition parties that despite their belief that the government was 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 Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response”.

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