Himanta terms opposition's boycott of new Parliament building inauguration ‘drama’

Atleast 20 opposition parties decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said it was mere ‘drama’ as they had never supported the project.

He also maintained that another reason for the boycott might be that the inauguration will be held on a day “associated with Veer Savarkar”.

Modi will inaugurate the new building on May 28, the birth anniversary of VD Savarkar, following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

“The boycott is obvious. They had opposed the construction of the Parliament building in the first place,” Sarma told reporters here.

The BJP’s poster boy in the North East claimed that the opposition had never thought the construction of the new Parliament house will be completed so soon and it came to them like a “bouncer”.

Also Read | Which are the political parties boycotting the new Parliament building's inauguration? Here's the full list

“So, just to save their face, they are enacting a drama of boycott. But the point remains that they never supported the project from day one... We never expected them to be in the function,” he added.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, Left and TMC, have announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Modi, saying they find no value in a new building “when the soul of democracy has been sucked out”.

Noting that the inauguration of the Parliament building is a momentous occasion, the opposition parties in a joint statement said, "Despite our belief that the government is threatening democracy, and our disapproval of the autocratic manner in which the new Parliament was built, we were open to sinking our differences and marking this occasion".