Amid the request to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed parliament building by major opposition parties, two parties, i.e., Biju Janta Dal and YSRCP, accepted the invitation to attend the ceremony.
At the ceremony, which is scheduled for this Sunday, a total of nineteen opposition parties, including AAP and INC, announced a boycott of the ceremony, addressing the “grave insult” and “direct assault” on democracy. The fact that the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, was not unveiling the ceremony was described as an insult to the nation by the opposition parties.
Just two weeks later, when PM Narendra Modi and Odisha CM and BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik met in New Delhi, it was announced that the BJD would attend the ceremony. The BJD spokesperson, Lenin Mohanty, assured the participation of its MPs in the event. Adding that the party (BJD) believes that the parliament is a symbol of democracy, which is above politics, the party emphasised protecting the authority and stature of democracy. The party asserted that the constitutional institutions are above political differences that can be discussed in the August House. The BJD currently has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha and eight in the Rajya Sabha. As BJD reassured its commitment to fight elections on its own, it denied any possibility of participating in a third front. It also confirmed that the party, as of now, is unlikely to change its policy of remaining equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress. Patnaik, who has been the CM of Odisha since 2000, was approached by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee to form an alliance against the NDA.
YSRCP also confirmed its presence at the ceremony. The biggest-ever tranche of funds in Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation in June 2014 was approved by the Centre only a few days ago. The CM of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has joined the opposition in only select areas while remaining largely in subtle support of the centre’s policies.
Union Minister Prahlad Joshi found the opposition’s boycott unfortunate. “I would like to tell them that this is a historical event. This is not the time for politics. Boycotting and making an issue out of a new issue is most unfortunate. I appeal to them to reconsider their decision and join this historical function,” he added.
While Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have confirmed their attendance, some others, such as Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), are expected to be there. Apart from Congress and AAP, the ones that have announced a boycott include the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (United), Nationalist Congress Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and others. The BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) is expected to take calls on Thursday.
I have bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and been actively participating in political activism since 2018. I am going to start pursuing masters degree in art with specialization in Society and Culture from Humanities and Social Sciences Dept at IIT Gandhinagar. I like to read nonfiction related to history and politics. Apart from that I find music and football quite interesting.
