Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday made a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government for not involving President Droupadi Murmu in the inaugural function of the new Parliament building, claiming that the Modi government made presidents from Dalit and tribal communities only for electoral gains.
Kharge said then President Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, was not invited when the foundation stone was laid on December 10, 2020, while present President Murmu, a tribal, is not being invited for the May 28 ceremony when the new building is being unveiled by Prime Minister Modi.
"It looks like the Modi Govt has ensured election of President of India from the Dalit and the Tribal communities only for electoral reasons... The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India, and the President of India is its highest Constitutional authority," he said in a series of tweets.
"She alone represents the government, Opposition, and every citizen alike. She is the First Citizen of India. Inauguration of the new Parliament building by her will symbolise government’s commitment to democratic values and Constitutional propriety," he said.
Kharge said the Modi government has "repeatedly disrespected propriety" and the Office of the President of India is "reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS government".
The Congress president's attack comes close on the heels of demands from the Opposition that the President and not the Prime Minister should inaugurate the new building, which has space for 888 MPs in Lok Sabha and 384 in Rajya Sabha. The present British-era building will complete 100 years in 2027.
On Sunday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi joined the Opposition chorus against Modi inaugurating the building and not the President.
According to Article 79 of the Constitution, Parliament consists of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Opposition leaders argued that the President is part of Parliament and during the unveiling of its new building, the president is being ignored.
Modi laid the foundation stone for the building in December 2020 when the President was not present. Similarly on July 11, 2022, when the national emblem was unveiled on top of the under construction building, Kovind was not present.
Rajya Sabha was represented by Deputy Chairman Harivansh on both occasions while then Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, who was also Vice President, did not attend due to protocol issues.
Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha earlier said, "Shouldn't the honourable President inaugurate the new 'Sansad Bhavan'? I leave it at that...Jai Hind". He also tweeted, "Gandhi and Savarkar cannot be in one frame just as Ambedkar and Golwalkar cannot be in one frame. Make artificial efforts but 'Gandhi and Ambedkar' will break your frame and come out and put a mirror in front of your politics. Jai Hind."
CPI General Secretary D Raja said, "The Prime Minister leads the executive organ of the state and Parliament is the legislative organ. It would have been appropriate for Droupadi Murmu as Head of the State to inaugurate the new Parliament. Obsession with self-image and cameras trumps decency and norms when it comes to Modi-ji."
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal tweeted, "PM Modi, in his megalomania, has once again violated constitutional values and disrespected the Hon'ble President of India. The President is the custodian of Parliament and the appropriate authority to inaugurate the new Parliament building. However, as usual, the PM has shown his hubris and sidelined her to hog the limelight."
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh added, "the sole architect, designer and worker for the new Parliament building, which he will inaugurate on May 28th. The picture tells it all – a personal vanity project."