The inauguration of India's new Parliament House by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked controversy as President Droupadi Murmu was excluded from the ceremony.
The Congress party wasted no time in criticizing the BJP-led Central government.
Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new parliament building, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at him and said that he is considering the inauguration of the new building as a coronation ceremony.
"Parliament is the voice of the people. The Prime Minister is considering the inauguration of the Parliament House as a coronation," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary communications in-charge, also took to Twitter to express his disapproval of the event's timing on May 28. Ramesh pointed out the historical significance of the date, mentioning that it marked the cremation of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who played a pivotal role in nurturing parliamentary democracy in India, while also being the birth anniversary of V.D. Savarkar, whose ideological influence was linked to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Ramesh further criticized the exclusion of President Droupadi Murmu, the first Adivasi (tribal) President, from fulfilling her constitutional duties by inaugurating the new Parliament building. He accused the Prime Minister of rarely attending or engaging in parliamentary proceedings, highlighting what he perceived as a disdain for parliamentary procedures.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal echoed these sentiments, alleging that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and its upper-caste, anti-backward mindset was responsible for the deliberate exclusion of the President and undermining the respect that her high constitutional office deserves.
In a tweet he said, "At the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Parliament building, then Hon’ble President Sh. Ramnath Kovind was kept away from the ceremony. At its inauguration, President Droupadi Murmu has been sidelined. It is the upper caste, 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."
