Up to 20 opposition parties have said they will boycott the opening event on May 28, saying President Murmu should inaugurate the building and not PM mode. The Government has attacked the parties for politicizing the issue and has accused them of disrespecting democracy and of being “against development and progress.”
These are the key events of the day…
SC refuses to entertain PIL
On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to consider a PIL seeking instructions for President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28.
A bench of judges JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha told petitioner Jaya Sukin’s lawyer in person that the court understands why and how this petition was filed and is unwilling to consider this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The petitioner had said that according to article 79, the president is the chief executive of the country and should have been invited. However, she said that if the court does not wish to consider the petition, she will be allowed to withdraw it.
Why Congress ‘hates’ Indian culture so much: Amit Shah
Union Home Secretary Amit Shah accused Congress on Friday of reducing the ceremonial Sengol scepter, which will be installed near the speaker’s chair in the new Parliament building, to a “baton”.
Shah said Congress needs to “reflect” on his behaviour, having denounced the party’s claim that there was no evidence that Sengol was a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India in 1947.
“Why does the Congress party hate India’s traditions and culture so much? A holy Sengol was given to Pandit Nehru by a Saivite Mutt saint from Tamil Nadu to symbolize India’s freedom, but was banished to a museum as a ‘staff’,” Shah tweeted.
‘Sad, unfortunate’: Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam on Congress’ ‘false’ claim
The Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam also on Friday objected to Congress’s claim that there is no documented evidence that Sengol is the symbol of the transfer of power from Britain to India in 1947.
Trying to downplay the importance of using Sengol as a symbol of transferring power for the sake of politics is sad and unfortunate, Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam said in an official statement.
The Adheenam were reacting to Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh’s claim that there is no documented evidence that Lord Mountbatten, C Rajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru described the ‘Sengol’ as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India. .
Ramesh also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his drummers are using the ceremonial scepter for their political purposes in Tamil Nadu.
There should be a limit to doing politics: Jaishankar
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday described the opposition boycott as “unfortunate” and said there should be a limit to doing politics.
He said the inauguration of the new Parliament building should be celebrated as a festival by the whole nation.
“I think that the inauguration of the new Parliament building should be seen as a celebration of democracy and should be celebrated in that spirit. It should not be controversial. It is unfortunate if it becomes the subject of controversy,” said Jaishankar, who represents Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha.
“Some people are trying (to create a controversy). But I think there should be a limit to engaging in politics. At least on those occasions, the whole country should come together and celebrate this festival,” the union minister said.
Nadda criticizes the ‘dynastic leadership’ of the opposition
BJP Chairman JP Nadda also criticized the opposition parties, saying what connects them is their dynastic leadership whose “monarchical” methods are at odds with the principles of the Constitution.
The parties that boycotted the inauguration lack any commitment to democracy because their only goal is to perpetuate a select group of dynasties, he tweeted, adding that such an approach is an insult to the creators of the Constitution.
These parties must introspect, he said.
Inauguration is not a political party program: Raut
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the inauguration is a national event and not a program of a political party, as he blasted the BJP.
“We are not against the inauguration of the new building (of Parliament). We want to know why the President of India has not been invited. Where is the vice president, who is the president of the Rajya Sabha? Speaker Om Birla’s name is on the guest list,” Raut told reporters.
Raut wondered if LK Advani because BJP has now seen “acche din” has stayed away from the feature.
“Instead of answering the questions, the BJP is making excuses like Indira Gandhi inaugurated an extension to the existing Parliament building and Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament library,” Raut said.
BJP trying to change history: JD(U)
Former BJP ally JD(S) said the saffron party is trying to change the country’s history by inaugurating the new building.
“We would not become the part of history that the BJP is trying to change through the new house of parliament… We will boycott the inauguration event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new parliament house building. The President of India should inaugurate it. Who is the Prime Minister to inaugurate it?” said JD(U) National Chairman Lalan Singh.
Kumaraswamy calls Congress ‘hypocritical’
JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Prime Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused the big party of hypocrisy for boycotting the inauguration.
A day after former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda announced his decision to attend the inauguration, his son and JD(S) second-in-command Kumaraswamy said the call of the Congress displayed its double standard in advancing its “trivial policy” to turn votes in its favor by “pleasing certain communities.”
The JD(S) leader, however, clarified that the position taken should not be perceived as a soft corner of his party for the BJP.
“Also in Karnataka, the Vikasa Soudha foundation was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Congress (Dharam Singh) in 2005 and not by the Governor (at that time). This is the double talk of the Congress, which seeks to convert votes to their favor by raising trivial political issues to appease certain communities,” Kumaraswamy said.
Opening program from 7.30 am
The inauguration of the new parliament building will begin from 7:30 a.m. on May 28 with the delivery of the “Sengol,” officials said on Thursday.
This will be followed by a Sarv Dharm Prayer and Puja.
“I will meet Prime Minister Modi and introduce him to ‘Sengol,'” said Sri Harihara Desika Swamigal, the 293rd chief priest of Madurai Adheenam.
The historical ‘Sengol’ scepter was received by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 14 August 1947, to represent the symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India. The same spectrum will be handed over to Prime Minister Modi by the head priest of Madurai Adheenam on May 28.
About the new Parliament
The new triangular-shaped parliament complex stands directly opposite the heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence.
The old Parliament will be turned into a museum, the government has said.
He has said a new parliament building is urgently needed as the existing structure “is very stressed” for a number of reasons including capacity, infrastructure, technology and security.
The new building, Modi said when he launched its construction in December 2020 during the pandemic, “would become a witness to the creation of a self-sufficient India,” underscoring another favorite theme.
In addition to modern technology, the new parliament has a total of 1,272 seats in two chambers, almost 500 more than the old building and at least three times more space.
It has four floors and rooms themed after the national symbols of the peacock, lotus and banyan tree, and murals, sculptures and art from across the country capturing 5,000 years of Indian civilization, said an architect directly involved in the development. project.
(With agency contributions)