With the new Parliament set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, the Opposition and the BJP have been at loggerheads over the unveiling by the PM and not President Droupadi Murmu. 20 Opposition parties have already voiced its concerns and said that they would be staying away from the event. Most of the Opposition parties had similarly stayed away from the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the new Parliament building in December 2020 — that move was also coordinated but unannounced. Together, these parties (including the nine MPs of the Shiv Sena Uddhav faction) have 242 MPs in both the Houses of Parliament. With the BRS which has 16 MPs, the number crosses the 250 mark. This is not the first time the Opposition parties have taken such a coordinated decision. In 2021, as many as 17 Opposition parties had boycotted the then President Ram Nath Kovind’s customary address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in solidarity with the farmers’ unions who were then protesting at Delhi’s borders demanding repeal of the three farm laws. Here’s a full list of all those attending and skipping the inauguration ceremony:
