Amit Shah slams Congress for boycott of Parliament inauguration

Sonia Gandhi did Bhoomi Pujan for the Chhattisgarh Assembly and inaugurated Assemblies in Manipur and Tamil Nadu, says the Union Home Minister

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses an event in Guwahati on May 25, 2023. Mr. Shah slammed Congress for deciding to boycott the inauguration of the Parliament building in New Delhi on May 28. | Photo Credit: ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on May 25 slammed Congress for deciding to boycott the inauguration of the Parliament building in New Delhi on May 28, accusing the grand old party of belittling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership despite successive clear mandates for BJP.

Speaking at an official function in Guwahati to distribute appointment letters to 33,703 people selected for Assam government jobs, he cited several instances of Congress and other political parties ignoring their respective Governor to inaugurate Assembly buildings across the country.

Congress and 18 other parties had called for the boycott of the Parliament building inauguration, pointing out that the BJP-led government humiliated President Droupadi Murmu by not inviting her to the programme.

“The data that we have collected show (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi did the Bhoomi Pujan for the Chhattisgarh Assembly building and inaugurated the Houses in Manipur and Tamil Nadu. The Governors of these States were not invited. [Former Chief Ministers] Tarun Gogoi and Chandrababu Naidu did a similar thing in Assam and Andhra Pradesh respectively,” Mr. Shah said.

Accusing Congress of “dirty politics” and “hypocrisy” to discredit Mr. Modi and the BJP-led government, Mr. Shah also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took part in the inauguration of some of these Assembly buildings without the Governors being invited.

“In the case of Chhattisgarh, the Governor was a tribal,” he pointed out.

Non-NDA parties such as the Biju Janata Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal have decided to attend the inauguration by Mr. Modi.

Earlier, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reminded Congress that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had inaugurated the Parliament House Annexe while her successor, Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the Parliament library building in 1987.

He also said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the Central Hall of the Bihar Assembly. “Were the President and Governors not insulted in those instances?” he asked.