New Parliament Building should be inaugurated by President: Priyanka

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi has said that the New Parliament Building should be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu as per protocol.

She accused the BJP of “constitutional immorality” and being “blinded by power”.

“The President is the Head of the Legislature, which is above the head of the Government ie the PM of India. The new parliament inauguration should be done by the President as the protocol demands. The BJP blinded by power has become a fountainhead of constitutional immorality,” she said in a tweet.

Congress has also said that it is not “constitutionally correct to exclude” the President who is the ‘Head of the Parliament’ from the inauguration event.

“It is not constitutionally correct to take a major decision about the Parliament excluding the head of the Parliament, the President of India from the decision-making from the foundation stone laying, now for the inauguration,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Monday.

He said Article 79 makes it “crystal clear” that the Parliament comprises the President of India, the head of the Parliament, and the two houses.

“First, the permanent house the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States and then the House of the People, the Lok Sabha. Why the Council of States? Because India is a union of states. And the Chairman of Rajya Sabha is the number two in the warrant of precedence, the honourable Vice President of India,” the Congress leader added.

Earlier on Sunday, former MP Rahul Gandhi had said that the President should inaugurate the newly-constructed Parliament building and not the Prime Minister.

“The President should inaugurate the new Parliament House, not the Prime Minister!” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly-constructed Parliament Building on May 28.

A Lok Sabha release had said that construction of the New Parliament Building in the national capital has been completed and symbolises the spirit of self-reliant India.

The foundation stone of the new building of Parliament was laid by PM Modi on December 10, 2020.

Keeping in view the future requirements, arrangements have been made for a meeting of 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 384 members in the Rajya Sabha in the newly constructed building of the Parliament. The joint session of both Houses will be held in Lok Sabha chamber.