Office of President of India reduced to tokenism under BJP govt: Kharge

NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused the Modi government of repeatedly disrespecting propriety by not inviting the president and former president for the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

He also alleged that the Office of the President of India has been reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS Government.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the new Parliament building on May 28, after the Speaker invited him to do so.  Kharge charged that the Modi Government has ensured the election of the President of India from the Dalit and tribal communities only for electoral reasons.  While former president Ram Nath Kovind was not invited to the new Parliament foundation laying ceremony, President Droupadi Murmu is not being invited for the inauguration of the new Parliament building, he said.

Noting that the Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India, and the President is its highest Constitutional authority, he said she alone represents the government, opposition, and every citizen alike.  “She is the First Citizen of India. Inauguration of the new Parliament building by her will symbolise the government’s commitment to democratic values and Constitutional propriety,” Kharge said.

“The Modi Government has repeatedly disrespected propriety. The Office of the President of India is reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS Government,” the Congress president said in a series of tweets.

Several opposition leaders have said that the president should inaugurate the new Parliament House building rather than the prime minister.