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In his appeal filed on July 15, Rahul said that if the July 7 judgment of the Gujarat High Court is not stayed, it would lead to throttling of free speech, expression, thought, and statement. | File photo

President, not PM, should inaugurate new Parliament building: Rahul

The Federal
21 May 2023 1:03 PM GMT  (Updated:2023-05-21 14:14:19)

Days before the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said President Droupadi Murmu should inaugurate the building, not the prime minister.

The Congress has already hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, calling the new Parliament building his “personal vanity project”. Rahul took to Twitter to air his views on the issue, posting a single line tweet in Hindi. Incidentally, Rahul is not alone, as several Opposition leaders have already objected to PM Modi inaugurating the new Parliament building, citing that he is the head of the government and not the head of the legislature.

Also read: PM to inaugurate new Parliament building on Veer Savarkar’s birth anniversary

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi wondered why Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman could not inaugurate it. “Why should PM inaugurate Parliament? He is head of the executive, not legislature. We have separation of powers & Hon’ble @loksabhaspeaker & RS Chair could have inaugurated. It’s made with public money, why is PM behaving like his “friends” have sponsored it from their private funds?” Owaisi tweeted.

“26 November 2023- Indian Constitution which gifted parliamentary democracy to the nation shall step into 75th year which would’ve been befitting for inauguration of new Sansad Bhawan. But it shall be done on 28 May, birthday of Savarkar- How much relevant?” tweeted Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.

“A complete insult to all our Founding Fathers and Mothers. A total rejection of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Bose, et al. A blatant repudiation of Dr Ambedkar,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted in reply.

“PM leads the executive organ of the state and Parliament is the legislative organ. It would have been appropriate for Smt. Droupadi Murmu as Head of the State to inaugurate the new Parliament,” said CPI general secretary D Raja on Twitter. “Obsession with self-image & cameras trumps decency & norms when it comes to Modi Ji!,” he tweeted. RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha also sought to know why the President of India is not invited to inaugurate the new Parliament building.

Also read: New Parliament building PM Modi’s personal ‘vanity project’: Congress

The Opposition has already resented the government move to inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28, which happens to be the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.

“Maximum Hypocrisy, Minimum Sincerity is the hallmark of this MA in Entire Political Science! Unveil Gandhi’s bust in Hiroshima and 8 days later inaugurate new Parliament building at home on the birth anniversary of the man who opposed Gandhi vehemently all his life, and even worse, had profound influence on the people who killed the Mahatma ultimately,” tweeted Jairam Ramesh.

The foundation stone of the new Parliament building was laid on December 10, 2020. The new building is capable of accommodating a total of 1,280 members in case of a joint sitting of both the Houses. It is a triangular-shaped four-storey building with a built-up area of 64,500 square metres.

Asaduddin OwaisiJairam RameshNarendra ModiNew parliament buildingDroupadi MurmuRahul GandhiRahul Gandhi
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