NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said neither getting President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate the new Parliament building nor inviting her to the ceremony is an "insult" to the country's highest constitutional post.
The former Congress president also said Parliament is not built by "bricks of ego" but through constitutional values.
His remarks came after 19 opposition parties, including the Congress, Left, AAP and TMC, announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament complex by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they find no value in a new building when the soul of democracy has been sucked out of Parliament.
In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Neither getting the President to inaugurate the Parliament nor inviting her to the ceremony is an insult to the country's highest constitutional post.
"Parliament is not constructed by bricks of ego, but through constitutional values," Gandhi said.
राष्ट्रपति से संसद का उद्घाटन न करवाना और न ही उन्हें समारोह में बुलाना - यह देश के सर्वोच्च संवैधानिक पद का अपमान है। संसद अहंकार की ईंटों से नहीं, संवैधानिक मूल्यों से बनती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 24, 2023Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The opposition parties have said the President is not only the Head of State in India, but also an integral part of Parliament as she summons, prorogues, and addresses it.
Therefore, they have argued that the President should inaugurate the building and not the PM.
READ MORE: 19 opposition parties to boycott new Parliament building inauguration
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