Parliament building should be inaugurated by Speaker or President, says Congress MP Gohil

Congress Rajya Sabha member Shaktisinh Gohil on Saturday said the new Parliament building should be inaugurated either by the Lok Sabha Speaker or the President.

When a new Legislative Assembly building was constructed in Gujarat, it was inaugurated by the then Governor and Speaker, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was breaking the tradition to showcase himself, the Congress leader claimed here.

At least 20 opposition parties including the Congress have said they would boycott the Sunday's event, contending that it is President Droupadi Murmu and not Modi who should inaugurate the new Parliament building.

''Parliament is above politics....it should be inaugurated either by the Speaker or President,'' Gohil told reporters. “We don't want to boycott such events, they (BJP) force us to do so by bringing politics into such programmes, '' he said.

There were several parliamentary traditions which the BJP was not following, he alleged.

The BJP-led government at the Centre, which has completed nine years, failed to deliver on its promises, he said.

Inflation and unemployment have skyrocketed and there has been almost 170 percent hike in LPG prices, 57 percent hike in petrol and 78 percent hike in diesel prices despite international crude oil prices falling, Gohil said.

Unemployment rate has risen by 35-40 percent after 2014, agriculture sector is in a bad shape and corruption and cronyism are rife, he claimed.

He also spoke of security issues, threat to social harmony, social justice and COVID-19 ''mismanagement'' under the Modi government.