The political brawl surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the new parliament building continued on Tuesday, with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticizing Congress for lacking “national spirit and sense of pride” in India’s progress and the opposition party accused him of trying to “cover up and conceal”. Speaking to reporters, Puri said that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the annex of the parliament on 24 October 1975 and that successor Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundations for the parliament library on 15 August 1987.
‘If your Head of Government can inaugurate Parliament’s Annex and Library, why can’t the Head of Government of this age do so? It’s that simple,” he said. Puri’s remarks came a day after the congress accused the government of not respecting the constitution and demanded that President Droupadi Murmu inaugurate the new parliament building, instead of Modi. Hitting back at Puri, senior congress leader Manish Tewari claimed on Tuesday that the minister is trying to “cover up and feign”. “Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, I am afraid, is trying to cover up and feign. There is a difference between an annexe of parliament, a library and a new parliament building,” he said in a tweet. “Incidentally, the Vice President of India, Chairman of the Council of States, is also conspicuous by his absence from the invitation card,” he added.
Modi will inaugurate the new parliament building on May 28 at the invitation of Lok Sabha chairman Om Birla. saying that the parliament is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India and the president of India is the supreme constitutional authority. “It seems that the Modi government has ensured the election of the president of India from the dalit and tribal communities only for electoral reasons,” he had also charged. On Kharge’s comment, Congress leader Shahi Tharoor tweeted: “Articles 60 and 111 of the constitution make it clear that the president is the head of parliament. It was bizarre enough that the prime minister performed the groundbreaking ceremony and puja when construction began, but totally incomprehensible and arguably unconstitutional for him and not for the president to inaugurate the building.
Puri also released a series of tweets earlier in the day claiming: “From criticizing the new parliament building and questioning its necessity, despite many of them advocating for it before but not implementing it, the president is shifting of Congress and other worthies now hit the goalpost by generously misquoting an article of the Constitution every day.” “Following harsh comments about Hon’ble President in the past by its leaders, the President of Congress is now making unsolicited and unnecessary comments about her election. Tragic that the Congress, claiming to be a national party, lacks any national spirit and pride in India’s progress,” he added.
The minister went on to say: “They should feel better if they remember 24 October 1975, the day when Smt Indira Gandhi inaugurated Parliament’s annex. Or on August 15, 1987 when Sh Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundations of the parliament library.” .” Clyde Crasto, the national spokesman for the NCP, questioned whether it was not President Murmu’s right to inaugurate the new parliament building as the head of the country. “Our parliament is our temple of democracy and the constitutional head of our country is our president,” he said, adding: “Isn’t it therefore the right of our president to inaugurate the new parliament building?
