Shiromani Akali Dal to attend inauguration of new Parliament building
NEW DELHI,MAY 24 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday said that it will attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28 after 19 opposition parties announced that they would be boycotting the event.
“The inauguration of the new Parliament building is a matter of pride for the country, so we have decided that the SAD party will attend the inauguration ceremony on 28th May. We do not agree with the issues raised by opposition parties,” said SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema as quoted by news agency ANI.
Nineteen opposition parties on Wednesday said that they were boycotting the inauguration over the fact that the prime minister was invited to inaugurate the building instead of the president.
According to the opposition parties, President Droupadi Murmu (head of the state) and not PM Narendra Modi (head of the government), should perform the inauguration.
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The opposition parties including the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena (UBT), the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Janata Dal (United) issued a joint statement on the same.
“We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. We will continue to fight — in letter, in spirit, and in substance — against this authoritarian Prime Minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India,” the statement read.
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However, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri argued that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had inaugurated premises in the Parliament in the past.
The new Parliament building, set to be inaugurated on May 28, will have a grand constitution hall to showcase India’s democratic heritage, a lounge for members of Parliament, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space. In the new parliament, marshals of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will have a new dress code.
-PTI
