Hardeep Puri slams Congress for criticising inauguration of new Parliament building
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 May, 2023 11:11 AM
New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday slammed the Congress for criticising the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28.
In a series of tweets, Puri said: "From criticising the New Parliament Building & questioning its very necessity despite many of them advocating for it before but not executing it, Congress President & other worthies are now shifting the goalpost by generously misquoting an article a day from the Constitution!
"They should feel better if they remember Oct 24, 1975 the day when Smt Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Annexe! Or August 15, 1987 when Sh Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation of the Parliament Library!
"So, instead of now finding articles to justify their hypocrisy why can't they just smile & join India on this momentous achievement & her march to greatness!"
He also attached a screenshot of comments of Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari.
Puri's remarks come amid a war of words between the Congress and BJP over the inauguration of the new Parliament House.
Taking to Twitter on Monday, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge said that government has ensured election of President of India from the Dalit and the Tribal communities only for electoral reasons, adding that the Office of the President has been reduced to tokenism under it.
"It looks like the Modi Govt has ensured election of President of India from the Dalit and the Tribal communities only for electoral reasons. While Former President, (Ram Nath) Kovind was not invited for the New Parliament foundation laying ceremony... The President of India Droupadi Murmu is not being invited for the inauguration of the new Parliament Building," he said
Taking a swipe at the governmen, Kharge added: "The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India, and the President of India is its highest Constitutional authority. She alone represents government, opposition, and every citizen alike. She is the First Citizen of India."
"Inauguration of the new Parliament building by her will symbolise Government's commitment to Democratic values and Constitutional propriety. The Modi government has repeatedly disrespected propriety. The Office of the President of India is reduced to tokenism under the BJP-RSS Government," he said, attacking the government."
On May 28, Modi will inaugurating the new Parliament building -- a triangular-shaped four-storey building with a built-up area of 64,500 square metres.
The building's construction started on January 15, 2021 and was to be completed by August 2022.
Built in an area of 64,500 square metres, the new building will house 1,224 MPs and is a four-storey structure.
It has a library, multiple committee rooms and dining rooms.
Tata Projects has constructed the building at an estimated cost of Rs 970 crore.
The police had earlier arrested K. Harish and J. Malathy, who were also directors of the company. Five more people are still at large in the multi-crore cheating case carried out by the company in the state.
Two Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in the same time span. The positivity rate of the city has risen to 13.79 per cent. The number of active cases stands at 806 out of which 452 patients are being treated in home isolation.
Lakhimpur Kheri Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Santosh Gupta, said that one staff member was also found Covid-positive during a contact tracing exercise on Sunday after which the entire campus has been turned into a quarantine centre by the Health department. This is the highest number of new Covid cases reported in a district in a day this year.
During thorough search of the area on Monday, BSF troops recovered six packets, containing 6.27 kg heroin, inside a bag lying in the fields near the village. A motorcycle was also found nearby.
According to the police, a 67-year-old man had filed a complaint with the cyber police station in Shahdara district wherein he alleged that on March 18, he had received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number in which a girl was performing some obscene act.
The accused -- 19-year-old Rohit Kumar and 26-year-old Kamal -- are residents of Sitapur. During interrogation, Rohit told police that the truck driver Harpinder, 60, originally from Faridkot district, tried to harass him sexually under the influence of alcohol.
