Announcing the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) decision on Wednesday to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the rualing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to understand the basic spirit of the shlokas (scriptural verses) written there, and added that where there is pride of power but no respect for the Opposition, it cannot be a true Parliament.
“The true parliamentary tradition is to give equal opportunity to every one to hear and understand, not by the ostentatious inauguration of the Parliament like by the BJP, but by understanding the basic spirit of the shlokas written there. Where there is pride of power but there is no respect for the Opposition, it cannot be a true parliament, why to go in such an inauguration,” Mr. Yadav said.
The SP president on Wednesday also attacked the ruling BJP for allegedly being anti-farmer. “The BJP is continuously cheating the farmers. In nine years of the BJP Government at the Centre, farmers’ income has not doubled. The BJP made false promises to farmers. It announces new programmes to confuse the farmers. The cost price of farming is constantly increasing but the farmer is not getting the price for his crops,” Mr. Yadav said in a statement, adding that the ruling party at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh nurtures capitalists by flouting rules.
The SP is among the 19 Opposition parties which issued a joint statement announcing the boycott of the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building, describing the “momentous occasion” as the “complete sidelining” of the President, alleging it was “not only a grave insult but a direct assault” on democracy, which demanded a “commensurate response”.
