'President, Not PM Should...': Rahul After Cong Calls New Parliament Modi's 'Personal Vanity Project'

Rahul Gandhi has said that the new building should be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu, not PM Narendra Modi.

Just a week ahead of the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not getting the new building inaugurated by the President of India. Gandhi took to Twitter on Sunday to share his view and wrote that the new Parliament complex should be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu, not the PM. This comes after Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh termed the construction as PM Modi's 'personal vanity project'.

Gandhi is not the first one to criticise the Prime Minister on the issue as several other opposition parties have also lashed out at the PM for inaugurating the new premises himself.

Voicing the same concern, CPI general secretary D Raja said in a tweet, "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!" he added.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had also expressed displeasure and said that the Lok Sabha speaker could have inaugurated it.

"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 funds?" Owaisi tweeted.

Notably, May 28 happens to be the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray did a veiled attack on the PM for choosing May 28 as the day for the inauguration.

He tweeted, "26 November 2023- Indian Constitution which gifted parliamentary democracy to the nation shall step into 75th year which would’ve been befitting for inauguration of new Sansad Bhawan. But it shall be done on 28 May, birthday of Savarkar- How much relevant?"

Reacting to it, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, "A complete insult to all our Founding Fathers and Mothers. A total rejection of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Bose, et al. A blatant repudiation of Dr. Ambedkar."

The foundation stone of the ambitious new Parliament building project was laid on December 10, 2020. The new building is capable of accommodating a total of 1,280 members in case of a joint sitting of both Houses.