'Treating inauguration like coronation': Rahul Gandhi targets PM Modi over new Parliament building

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday targeted the PM saying he was considering the launch of the new House as a coronation. "Parliament is the voice of the people! The Prime Minister is considering the inauguration of the Parliament House as a coronation," Gandhi said.

Congress is among the 20 political parties that boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament building. These parties argued that the building should have been inaugurated by President, not the Prime Minister.

Congress also tweeted two pictures, showing PM Modi smaller than former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. The grand old party suggested that "no matter how hard he tries", PM Modi can not match the personality of Nehru.   

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building and installed the historic Sengol in the Lok Sabha chamber. The ceremony began this morning with havan amid Vedic chants by high priests of various adheenams in Tamil Nadu.  

Amid chants by priests from Karnataka's Shringeri Math, the prime minister performed "Ganapati Homam" to invoke Gods to bless the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He prostrated before the Sengol and sought blessings from high priests with the holy sceptre in hand. PM Modi then carried the Sengol in a procession amid tunes of "nadaswaram" and chanting of Vedic mantras to the new Parliament building and installed it in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar's NCP and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday said that it was saddening that the new Parliament building was not inaugurated by the President. The Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed the inauguration of the new Parliament building by ignoring President Murmu was not in accordance with tradition and protocol.

Several Opposition parties boycotted the event while insisting that President Droupadi Murmu as head of the state should do the honours. NCP's national spokesperson Clyde Crasto in a tweet said, "We are a Democracy, not a Monarchy. The people of the country must yield Power...It is saddening to see that our president, the constitutional head of our country, is not inaugurating the New Parliament building."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the inauguration of the new Parliament building by ignoring President Murmu was not in accordance with tradition and protocol. The manner in which an attempt is being made to take control of Parliament is not good for democracy, he said. "The President of India wasn't even invited for the function which is the reason why 20 Opposition parties have decided to boycott the event," he said.

The Rajya Sabha member also said there was no need for a new Parliament building as the existing one was in good shape and was an attraction to the world.
"History will remember that Rs 20,000 crore were spent unnecessarily for a new Parliament building and the President of India was not even invited," he wrote in the Marathi daily. A similar argument was made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who on Saturday said there was no need for a new Parliament building.

Former Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said a new Parliament building was the need of the hour and he failed to understand why the opposition was making so much noise over it. "They should have been happy as they themselves have failed to do so over the years and if someone else has done it he should be welcomed," he said. "Our ideology did not match with Modi and BJP but if someone is doing good work we should acknowledge it."

Azad further said the Prime Minister laid the foundation of the new parliament building and if he inaugurated it, "what we have to do with it". "Rashtrapati or prime minister has to decide on this, rather than the opposition," he added. He also took a dig at the opposition for making it an issue and said chief ministers are doing inaugurations in states instead of governors. "All those who have joined hands see how they are treating the Governors. Let them pass a law that henceforth all inaugurations will be done by the governors," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)