Daman and Diu MP not invited to Republic Day event; writes to Birla seeking action

Patel called up the protocol official of the event on Sunday morning and informed them that he would show up. After reaching the venue, Patel found that the flag was hoisted by Daman Deputy Collector Priyanshu Singh. Patel later also asked Singh as to why he had not been officially invited. Patel left the place after getting “unsatisfactory” answers from officials and later posted a video on social media, alleging that the district administration had been “unfair”.

Patel wrote the letter to Birla, who is also speaker of the Lok Sabha, alleging “breach of privilege and violation of office memorandum on Republic Day celebration” in Daman.

The letter, seen by The Indian Express, read, “As on 76th Republic Day celebration event all the elected MPs are invited across the country by the administration at district level celebrations. It is an utter disregard toward the spirit of the Constitution; the Union Territory administration of DNH and DD excluded me from the Republic Day celebration in Daman. Sir, there cannot be a bigger irony that an event held to celebrate the Constitution’s ideals omitted the very representative of the people, whose interest it is supposed to safeguard. On inquiring about not receiving the formal invitation, I was told by the officials that a general notice had been put out about the event. This is utter disrespect on part of the administration.”

“ I would also like to inform you that this is not just a disrespect towards the constitution, but also a blatant violation of guidelines issued by the Government of India. I would like to draw your attention to an office Memorandum dated 13th September 2022, issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, titled ‘observance of proper procedure in official dealings between Administration & MPs and State legislatures’. Point 5(b) (i) of the memorandum states Members of Parliament of the area should invariably be invited to public functions organised by the government office. Point 5(b)(ii) of the memorandum further states that whenever a meeting/function is organised by the government department, special care should be taken that notice is given to the concerned Member of Parliament in good time regarding the date, time, venue, etc., of the meeting,” the letter further said.

Patel went on to claim that the UT administration also did not invite him to Liberation Day celebrations of Daman and Diu on December 19, 2024. “They have repeated the same actions today. This continues a breach of the privilege of a Member of Parliament to be represented in public events. In addition, the actions of the Union territory administration are in complete defiance of established procedure”, his letter stated.

Patel requested Birla to take cognizance of the matter and initiate strict disciplinary actions against the erring officials.

He told The Indian Express, “The administration had been intentionally keeping me out from such events. In last year’s Republic Day event, I was invited, but… I was not allowed to sit on the dais. This year, they had not invited me. The administration of the UT of DNH (Dadara and Nagar Haveli) did this even with late Mohan Delkar, also an independent MP. The latter had raised the issue in Parliament a couple of times. Now these officials are doing it with me. I will not let it go; I will fight till my last breath to get the rights I possess. I will not tolerate such an insult by the administration.”

Delkar, an independent MP from the UT of DNH, was found dead at a Mumbai hotel on February 22, 2021. He had allegedly died by suicide and in his note, he accused nine people of abetment. Bombay High Court had later quashed a case against the nine people, including DNH UT Administrator Praful Khoda Patel – a former BJP minister from Gujarat. Delkar’s wife Kalaben then joined the BJP and is now an MP from the DNH UT.

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