Not inviting Prez for Parliament building inauguration insult of tribal community, says Digvijaya; lambasts PM

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said that by not inviting President Droupadi Murmu for the inauguration of the new Parliament Building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not only insulted her, but also the entire tribal community in the country.

The new Parliament building is scheduled to be inaugurated by PM Modi on May 28 and so far 19 opposition parties have announced that they would boycott the event.

"By not inviting the president, who belongs to a tribal community, PM Narendra Modi has insulted her. She neither performed the foundation laying ceremony of the new Parliament building nor was she invited for its inauguration on May 28. It is an insult of the country's entire tribal community and also of those citizens who have faith in the Indian Constitution," Singh told reporters in Burhanpur town in Madhya Pradesh.

Referring to PM Modi, Singh said, "His ego and self-glorification has reached its pinnacle now. He even changed the name of the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad by naming it after himself following the renovation of the facility even as he installed the tallest statue of Sardar Patel, who is called an 'Iron Man'. There is so much ego in him (PM), he is a megalomaniac, who always wants to present himself as God." The present Parliament complex is a heritage building, which has all necessary arrangements in it. If there were any shortcomings in that complex, then it could have been renovated. But PM Modi spent thousands of crores on the new Parliament building, the Rajya Sabha member said.

As per Article 75, the head of Parliament is the President, Lok Sabha Speaker and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Parliament functions only under them. It cannot function without the signature of the President and the Governor (Assemblies), he added.

As many as 19 parties, including the Congress, Left, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament, saying they find no value in a new building when the "soul of democracy has been sucked out".

Criticising the decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination currency note from circulation, Singh asked the government to first tell the people why it was introduced and why demonetisation was carried out.

He also asked why the Rs 2,000 currency note is being withdrawn after it was introduced seven years ago and alleged that the government has spent thousands of crores on designing it and changing configuration of ATM machines while introducing it.

"Did black money vanish from the system as promised at that time (demonetisation)?" he sought to know.

Talking about Burhanpur, Singh said the area is known for the cultivation of banana crop, but the government is unfortunately not covering this crop under its insurance scheme for compensating farmers in the event of loss suffered by the cultivators, while in neighbouring Maharashtra it is being paid.