Why is BJD not part of Oppn boycott of new Parliament building inauguration?

“The President of India is the head of the Indian state. The Parliament represents the 1.4 billion people of India. Both the institutions are symbols of Indian democracy and draw their authority from the Constitution of India. Their authority and stature should always be safeguarded,” said Patra.

Regarding the boycott call given by the 19 Opposition parties over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to inaugurate the Parliament building himself while “completely sidelining” President Droupadi Murmu, the BJD spokesperson said such issues can always be debated later in the august house.

He said: “The office of the President of India is beyond politics. There are several platforms including the Parliament of India, where it [the President not being invited to inaugurate the Parliament] can be debated later.”

The decision fits into Patnaik’s oft-repeated position of not angering the ruling party at the Centre in order to ensure smooth passages for Odisha’s demands from the Union government.

“Unlike other national or regional parties, BJD doesn’t nurture a national ambition. We are more concerned about retaining power in Odisha and working for the development of the state and its people. In a federal structure, the Centre and state needs to work together on certain occasions. We always believe in constructive cooperation with the Centre,” said the BJD leader.

The BJD’s stand received flak from the Congress. Chairman of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, Ganeswar Behera, asked how the occasion can be “momentous” when the dignity of the highest authority in India goes unprotected. “The BJD takes such stand for narrow mutual political gain,” Behera told The Indian Express.

All 21 BJD MPs are expected to attend the event in New Delhi on May 28. The party’s decision not to side with the plan to boycott the event assumes significance in view of BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s recent statement that his party will not be part of any Third or Opposition Front, and will instead continue to go solo in the general and Assembly polls scheduled in 2024.

Despite not being part of the NDA alliance, the BJD has always sided with the Narendra Modi government whenever it needed the numbers to pass contentious legislations or during presidential polls. It also stood with the NDA on other matters like demonetisation, “surgical” strike and the scrapping of Article 370.

Not only had Patnaik’s party, which has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha and nine in the Rajya Sabha, supported the NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu in June 2022, it had also taken the lead to reach out to the Opposition parties, including the Congress, to mobilise support for the NDA candidate, who hails from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

At the time, the CM had also described the NDA decision to nominate Murmu for the country’s highest constitutional position a “proud moment” for the people of Odisha.