Oppn, BJP lock horns in fiery debate over new Parliament: Who said what

From Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, here’s your primer on who said what:

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress national president: “It looks like the Modi Govt has ensured election of President of India from the Dalit and the Tribal communities only for electoral reasons… The President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu is not being invited for the inauguration of the new Parliament Building,” Kharge stated on Twitter.

“The Office of the President of India is reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS Government,” he alleged.

It looks like the Modi Govt has ensured election of President of India from the Dalit and the Tribal communities only for electoral reasons.

While Former President, Shri Kovind was not invited for the New Parliament foundation laying ceremony…

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— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) May 22, 2023

Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP: “Articles 60 and 111 of the Constitution of India make it clear that the President is the head of parliament. It was bizarre enough that the PM performed the ground-breaking ceremony & puja when construction began, but totally incomprehensible (& arguably unconstitutional) for him and not the President to inaugurate the building.”

Sanjay Singh, AAP MP: “You make a tribal woman the President of India for political gains but do not invite her to inaugurate the new Parliament building…Could there be a bigger insult to a president than this?”

BJP दलितों पिछड़ों आदिवासियो की जन्मजात विरोधी है।
महामहिम के अपमान की दूसरी घटना।
पहला अपमान प्रभु श्री राम के मंदिर शिलान्यास में श्री रामनाथ कोविंद जी को नहीं बुलाया।
दूसरा अपमान संसद भवन के उदघाटन समारोह में महामहिम राष्ट्रपति श्रीमती द्रौपदी मूर्मू जी को न बुलाना।

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) May 22, 2023

Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM national president: “Why should PM inaugurate Parliament? He is head of the executive, not legislature… why is PM behaving like his “friends” have sponsored it from their private funds?”

Why should PM inaugurate Parliament? He is head of the executive, not legislature. We have separation of powers & Hon’ble @loksabhaspeaker & RS Chair could have inaugurated. It’s made with public money, why is PM behaving like his “friends” have sponsored it from their private… https://t.co/XmnGfYFh6u

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 19, 2023

Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena UBT MP: “The Hon. President is the Head of the Legislature, which is above the head of the Government ie the PM of India. The new parliament inauguration should be done by the President as the protocol demands. The BJP blinded by power has become a fountainhead of constitutional immorality.”

The Hon. President is the Head of the Legislature, which is above the head of the Government ie the PM of India. The new parliament inauguration should be done by the President as the protocol demands. The BJP blinded by power has become a fountainhead of constitutional…

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 23, 2023

Derek O’Brien, TMC MP: “Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules — it is the foundation of Indian democracy. Prime Minister Modi doesn’t get that.”

D Raja, CPI general secretary: “PM leads the executive organ of the state and Parliament is the legislative organ. It would have been appropriate for Smt. Droupadi Murmu as Head of the State to inaugurate the new Parliament. Obsession with self-image & cameras trumps decency & norms when it comes to Modi Ji!”

Here’s how the BJP responded:

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas: “From criticising the New Parliament Building & questioning its very necessity despite many of them advocating for it before but not executing it, Congress President & other worthies are now shifting the goalpost by generously misquoting an article a day from the Constitution!” Puri wrote in a Twitter thread on Tuesday morning.

Responding to censure about the inauguration’s date falling on VD Savarkar’s birth anniversary, Puri said, “They should feel better if they remember Oct 24, 1975 the day when Smt Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Annexe! Or August 15, 1987 when Sh Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation of the Parliament Library!”

From criticising the New Parliament Building & questioning its very necessity despite many of them advocating for it before but not executing it, Congress President & other worthies are now shifting the goalpost by generously misquoting an article a day from the Constitution! pic.twitter.com/GUwexamcZy

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 23, 2023

Gaurav Bhatia, BJP national spokesperson: “Those making accusations of unnecessary expenditure should be asked about the Z+ security given to members of the Gandhi family for many years even when they held no Constitutional post,” Bhatia told a news channel on Monday.

The row continued, with Priyanka Chaturvedi and Congress MP Manish Tewari issuing counters to Puri’s statement soon after he tweeted it on Tuesday.

Chaturvedi challenged Puri’s justification of the date of inauguration, while Tewari suggested that it is not the Congress but the Union minister who needs to read the Constitution more carefully.

Amazing that BJP spokespersons and supporters are comparing annexe building and library building inauguration in the parliament complex to the parliament itself! 😀

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 23, 2023

Article 79 COI
“There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the council of States and the House of the People”

Ministers of the Union must read the Constitution of India very carefully @HardeepSPuri https://t.co/S0KHE6exWo

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) May 23, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28.