Reasons given by opposition parties boycotting inaugural ceremony of new parliament building are ridiculous: Maha Dy CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. PTI File Photo

The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday said that the opposition is suffering from the "fever" of Modi-hatred.

Fadnavis, also a BJP leader, was commenting on the announcement by the Congress and 19 other parties to boycott the inauguration of the new parliament building by Modi on May 28.

On Wednesday, nineteen opposition parties led by the Congress announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to inaugurate it himself and "completely sidelining" President Droupadi insults the high office of the President and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution. This was unacceptable, the parties added.

"It is unfair to look at such events with a jaundiced outlook. The new parliament building is the pride of this country. The reasons given by those who are not going to attend the inaugural ceremony of the new temple of democracy are ridiculous," Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai. "The opposition is suffering from a fever of hatred for Modi," he added.

The new parliament building was constructed in a short period which demonstrated the country's might, he said.

The parties said in a joint statement said that the inauguration of a new Parliament building is a momentous occasion. "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 Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response."

Among the signatories of the statement are the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the DMK, the Janata Dal (United, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Muslim League, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the National Conference, the Kerala Congress (M), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

The parties said Article 79 of the Constitution of India states, "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People."

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They added in the statement, "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. 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. It undermines the spirit of inclusion which saw the nation celebrate its first woman Adivasi President."

The parties said that "undemocratic acts are not new to the Prime Minister, who has relentlessly hollowed out the Parliament".

"Opposition Members of Parliament 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," they said.

"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. 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," read the statement.