As Congress boycotts Constitution Club event, BJP calls it ‘shubhaarambh’ & not inauguration
Talking to journalists at his residence, former CM Ashok Gehlot said that Om Birla himself should skip the programme.
3 min read
Talking to journalists, Government Chief Whip Jogeshwar Garg said: “The Opposition is trying to mislead by saying that we are inaugurating the Club."Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be doing the “shubhaarambh (launch ceremony)” of the Constitution Club of Rajasthan and not its inauguration, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said Thursday even as Congress MLAs announced a boycott of the March 8 programme.
Talking to journalists, Government Chief Whip Jogeshwar Garg said: “The Opposition is trying to mislead by saying that we are inaugurating the Club. We are not inaugurating the Club, you have done that already and also fixed the shilapatt (slab, with names of those inaugurating). We are not going to install a shilapatt or even a curtain. We are merely beginning the use of those facilities which are going to be given to the MLAs. No one should object to it and there should be no confusion or controversy”.
He said that during the Congress government, the Club was inaugurated — even though its construction was not completed – as the Model Code of Conduct for 2023 Assembly elections was going to be imposed soon.
“Congress MLAs should have a big heart and attend the ‘shubhaarambh’ by Birla,” he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP leader Rajendra Rathore, then Leader of Opposition who had attended the September 2023 inauguration by Gehlot, said: “It is unfortunate. Congress party leaders forget that be it any government construction, it is done with tax money collected from the 8-crore people of Rajasthan”.
Terming it a shubhaarambh too, he told journalists in Jodhpur that “when we construct a home and enter it for the first time, then we do pooja and call our loved ones.”
Meanwhile, Congress MLAs announced a boycott of the programme. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said: “We had a Legislative Party meeting today morning where all the MLAs unanimously decided to boycott the inauguration.”
He said that “the Constitution Club’s foundation, construction work and inauguration was done during the Congress government in the presence of government and the opposition leaders” and that its ‘reinauguration’ sets a wrong precedent. He also accused the government of inviting BJP MLA candidates who had lost the assembly polls for inauguration of local works while ignoring the winning Congress MLAs.
“I had requested the Assembly Speaker himself to inaugurate the Club with a havan (a Hindu fire ritual). But Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ji is being called, he is on such a big post, and if he is re-inaugurating something again then it does not suit his stature,” Jully said.
Talking to journalists at his residence, former CM Ashok Gehlot said that Om Birla himself should skip the programme.
The Club was inaugurated on September 22, 2023, by then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Speaking in the Assembly Tuesday, Speaker Vasudev Devnani had informed the House about the “shubhaarambh” by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at 11 am on March 8 and invited MLAs to attend the event.
You May Like
