New Delhi, May 28 (Agency) The Congress on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter inaugurated the new Parliament building, and called him a “self-glorifying authoritarian PM”. Over a dozen of political parties including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, have ‘boycotted’ the inauguration of the new Parliament building, accusing the PM of “sidelining” President Droupadi Murmu. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was demanding that the new building should be inaugurated by the President, attacked the ruling BJP in a tweet and wrote, “The right to inaugurate the new Parliament was taken away from the President.” “Women players were beaten with force on the streets. Three lies of BJP-RSS rulers are now exposed in front of the country– Democracy, Nationalism and Beti Bachao ( Save daughter),” Kharge said in an apparent reference to the alleged manhandling of the wrestlers by security personnel protesting at Jantar Mantar, as they tried to march towards the new Parliament.
Several wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik are protesting at Jantar Mantar accusing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh of sexual harassment. “Remember Modi ji, democracy is not just about buildings, it by runs by the voice of the people,” he said. Taking a swipe at PM, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while taking to Twitter wrote, “Parliament is the voice of the people. The PM is considering the inauguration of the Parliament building as a coronation”. “A self-glorifying authoritarian PM with utter ‘disdain’ for Parliamentary procedures, who rarely attends Parliament or engages in it, inaugurates the new Parliament building,” Congress general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote on the micro-blogging site, attacking Modi. The Congress MP added, “The President, the first Adivasi to become President is not allowed to fulfil her Constitutional duties and inaugurate the New Parliament building in 2023.” Echoing a similar sentiment, Congress general secretary in-charge Organisation, KC Venugopal in a tweet said, ‘At the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Parliament building, then President Ram Nath Kovind was kept away from the ceremony. At its inauguration, President Droupadi Murmu has been sidelined. It is the upper caste, an anti-backward mindset of the RSS because of which they are denied the respect that their high Constitutional office deserves.” “Their deliberate exclusion shows PM Modi will use them as tokens for his electoral politics, but will not allow them to be part of such significant and historic occasions,” Venugopal added. Earlier, the Opposition in a joint statement had said, “Undemocratic acts are not new to the PM, who has relentlessly hollowed out the Parliament. When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the Parliament, we find no value in a new building.’ The PM laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament on December 10, 2020.