The Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India and the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced that they would boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28. Sources told The Hindu that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal had reached out to other Opposition leaders to get their sense and conveyed their reservation about the Prime Minister inaugurating the building and not the President.
MPs got invites for the function on Tuesday on WhatsApp. “Perhaps they [government] will send in a formal invite. But surely they could have done better,” an Opposition MP said.
Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien took to Twitter, announcing his party’s decision. “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. 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,” he tweeted.
