Parliament inauguration: Opposition says PM 'megalomaniac, arrogant'

Opposition parties on Thursday continued their attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over inauguration of the new Parliament building and accused him of being 'megalomaniac' and the government of being 'arrogant'.

Modi is slated to inaugurate the new building on May 28.

As of now 21 opposition parties have said they will not be attending the ceremony.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the 'arrogance' of the Modi government has 'destroyed' the parliamentary system.

'Mr Modi, Parliament is the temple of democracy established by the people. The office of the President is the first part of Parliament. The arrogance of your government has destroyed the parliamentary system,' he said in a tweet in Hindi.

'140 crore Indians want to know what do you want to show by taking away the right of the President of India to inaugurate the Parliament House?' the Congress chief said.

The Congress' attack comes a day after as many as 20 opposition parties announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Modi.

Nineteen Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, came together to jointly announce the boycott, saying they find no value in a new building when the 'soul of democracy has been sucked out'.

Separately, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said if Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla does not inaugurate the new Parliament building, his party would not attend.

'Boycott of #ParliamentBuilding opening by 20 parties representing the diversity and pluralism of India is a response to boycott of parliamentary traditions by an authoritarian government. The 'NDA statement' pulled out by BJP is telling. A once large coalition now virtually extinct!' said Derek O' Brien, TMC MP and leader of the party in Rajya Sabha.

Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury highlighted how the president and not the prime minister should inaugurate the new building.

'Modi to inaugurate new Parliament building! The President of India is not only the head of the Republic but also the head of the Parliament. PM is head of the govt- Executive- & not of the Legislature,' he said.

TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale referred to the prime minister inaugurating every Vande Bharat train and his photo on Covid vaccinations and said it was a 'hallmark of authoritarians'.

'From Vande Bharat trains to the new Parliament building - everything has to be inaugurated by PM Modi. His photo also needs to be on all Covid vaccination certificates. Work done by any ministry is credited to him. This sort of megalomania is a classic hallmark of insecure authoritarians,' he said in a tweet.

Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam said that issues raised by the opposition have remained unanswered and questioned how the government has asked the opposition to reconsider their decision to boycott the opening ceremony.

'All our valid concerns remain un attended , our serious questions are yet to be answered. What is the logic behind the @parliamentary affairs minister asking us to reconsider our decision to boycott? Let @narendramodi apologise @rashtrapatibhvn for bypassing 1st Indian citizen,' he said in a tweet.

The opposition parties contend that President Droupadi Murmu should do the honours as she was not only the Head of State, but also an integral part of Parliament as she summons, prorogues, and addresses it.