RJD compares new Parliament to 'coffin', draws flak

The Rashtriya Janata Dal Sunday likened the new Parliament building's triangular shape to a coffin, drawing a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said people will bury the RJD in the coffin in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

As the new building was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling party in Bihar put out a tweet that showed a coffin and the new legislature building side by side. "What is this," the party asked in the tweet.

The BJP's Bihar unit responded to the tweet saying, "The first picture is your future and the second is of India. Understood?"

BJP spokespersons Shehzad Poonawalla termed RJD's tweet "disgusting", while Gaurav Bhatia said the coffin belongs to the RJD and Parliament to the country.

"This is the level to which they have fallen. Disgusting. This will prove to be the final nail in the coffin of RJD's politics. Trikon or Tribhuj (triangles) has much significance in Indian system. By the way, the coffin is hexagonal or has six sided polygon," Poonawalla said on Twitter.

Bhatia said, "Today is a historic moment and the country is proud. You are merely a 'Nazarbattu' (a symbol to ward off evil eye) and nothing else. Keep beating your chest."

"In 2024, the people of the country will bury you in this coffin and will not even give you a chance to enter the temple of new democracy. Let it also be decided that the coffin is yours and Parliament of the country," he said, using the hashtag "MyParliamentMyPride".

BJP MP from Aurangabad, Sushil Kumar Singh, who attended the inauguration of the new Parliament building, said, the tweet put out by the RJD was "in poor taste".

"What do you expect from this party (RJD) which is now a partner of the JD-U in the Bihar government. Those who are making this odious comparison with a coffin, their politics will be sealed in a coffin," he told reporters in Delhi.

Singh, a four-time MP, said the new Parliament building represents the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat as it demonstrates India now has the capabilities to dream, design, build and execute such projects all by itself.

"This is a totally 'made-in-India' building of our Parliament, and it has modern amenities and reflection of India's cultural heritage," he told PTI.

Asked what will happen to the old Parliament building, he said, "Both buildings will complement each other, and old building's important office and Central Hall will be used," he said.

Referring to the RJD's tweet, senior BJP leader and its former Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal said in a video statement the act of the state's ruling party is highly "condemnable".

"This has exposed the RJD's mindset that it does not have any regard for Parliament, the supreme law-making institution in the country, it shows that they don't believe in parliamentary democracy," he said.

Without naming any RJD leader, Jaiswal said they believe that "their father and mother can only hold the posts of chief minister or prime minister".

"The tweet is highly condemnable and totally uncalled for," he said.

Echoing Jaiswal, Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, "It is most condemnable that the RJD had compared the new Parliament House with a coffin. The politics of the Grand Alliance led by the Congress and the politics of RJD and JD-U will be buried in the same coffin."

He also alleged that the Congress and all its allies, especially RJD-JDU, are "insulting democracy and democratic historical heritage".

"All these parties will be pushed into its coffin and they won't exist in the future," he said.

However, justifying the RJD's tweet, its Bihar unit spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary told PTI, "The way the new Parliament building was inaugurated today, it showed that democracy was buried. Neither the President nor the Vice President, who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, were invited to the function. This does not happen in a democracy."

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U and RJD had already announced that they would boycott the inaugural function of the new Parliament building.

The JD-U also declared it would observe a day-long fast here on Sunday to protest against the inauguration of the new Parliament building by PM Modi.

Soon after the inauguration, PM Modi hoped that the iconic building becomes a cradle of empowerment, igniting dreams and nurturing them into reality.

"May it propel our great nation to new heights of progress", the prime minister said.

The new Parliament building is a reflection of new India's aspirations, Modi said, and asserted that it will pave the way for empowering the poor and marginalised and herald the rise of a "developed India" that will inspire the progress of other nations.

In a speech delivered from the grand and cavernous Lok Sabha hall decorated in peacock motif, he said the ultra-modern complex was the "need of the hour" in view of the expected increase in the number of members of Parliament.

The new Parliament building, constructed by Tata Projects Ltd, will also have a grand Constitution Hall to showcase India's democratic heritage, a lounge for MPs, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space.