The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a "crybaby" for his objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the new Parliament building. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, in an interview with NDTV, criticized Mr. Gandhi, stating that he always gets agitated during historic moments in the country.
Mr. Bhatia responded to Rahul Gandhi's suggestion that the President should inaugurate the new Parliament building instead of the Prime Minister. He accused Mr. Gandhi of having a narrow mindset and being unable to appreciate the significance of the occasion. He referred to the new Parliament building as a "temple of democracy" and criticized Mr. Gandhi for not welcoming this historic moment.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also accused the Modi-led government of repeatedly disrespecting propriety by excluding the President and former President from the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He alleged that the Office of the President has been reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS government.
In response, Gaurav Bhatia highlighted that even Congress leaders, such as Meira Kumar and Jairam Ramesh, had expressed the need for a new Parliament building. He criticized the Congress for being unable to complete projects due to corruption and inefficiency. He accused them of chest-beating even when PM Modi is fulfilling their own dreams for the benefit of the country.
Mallikarjun Kharge further alleged that former President Ram Nath Kovind was not invited to the foundation laying ceremony of the new Parliament building and the current President, Droupadi Murmu, is not being invited to its inauguration. He emphasized the importance of the President as the highest Constitutional authority and the symbol of democratic values and constitutional propriety.
The inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28 has drawn criticism from opposition parties, who have questioned the choice of date coinciding with the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. The Congress has called it an insult to the country's founding fathers.
Gaurav Bhatia dismissed the objections to the date, stating that Veer Savarkar is a source of pride for every Indian and those questioning the date are inconsequential.
Several opposition leaders, including Manoj Kumar Jha, D Raja, and Asaduddin Owaisi, have criticized the government for PM Modi inaugurating the Parliament building instead of the President. They have raised concerns about the separation of powers and suggested that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha should have performed the inauguration.
The new Parliament building has the capacity to accommodate 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber, 300 in the Rajya Sabha chamber, and a total of 1,280 members in the case of a joint sitting of both Houses, according to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building on December 10, 2020.
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