TMC terms inauguration of new Parliament as a ‘Black Day’ in Indian history

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) has termed the inauguration of the new Parliament building as a “Black Day” in the history of this country’s politics.

TMC MP Santanu Sen said that in the history of India’s Parliamentary politics, May 28, will forever be etched as a “Black Day”.

He said that firstly about Rs 20,000 crore was spent on this Central Vista project at a time when people were dying during the Covid pandemic.

“People are still looking for answers as to what was the necessity behind spending such an exorbitant amount for this at a time when the country was reeling under a pandemic. The funds were spent when people were dying while dead bodies were allegedly floating in the river water. Such a Tughlaqi decision was taken around at that time, turning a blind eye to the plight of Indians,” he alleged.

Sen further added that India is going to complete 75 years of Independence in November and the Winter Session of the Parliament will be held in this new building. “There was an apparent hurry to inaugurate the building to earn political mileage ahead of the Parliamentary elections in 2024. Article 79 states that the Indian Parliament consists of the President and two Houses. The President is not just the head of the country but an integral part of the Parliament. The incumbent President is also representing one of the backward classes of the country. Ignoring her presence, the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has named a stadium after him and a medical college, also chose to inaugurate the new Parliament building on Sunday”, he alleged.

The TMC and AAP had announced their decisions to boycott the inauguration on the day the AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. “Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules — it is the foundation of Indian democracy. PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, me, myself. So count us out,” tweeted TMC’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien.