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.
Two persons injured in a road accident on Tuesday-- Sumit Gaur (21),and Mahboob Siddique (20) -- were declared dead and their bodies were kept at the hospital morgue overnight. When Sumit's relatives arrived at the mortuary to claim the body on Wednesday, they found multiple bite marks on his face. The rats had nibbled the nose, they alleged.
Raids on locations related to Popular Front of India (PFI) are being carried out in eight places in Uttar Pradesh. Mohammad Waseem, resident of Indira Nagar in Lucknow, has been taken away by the NIA sleuths, according to official sources. Waseem runs a tailoring shop and digital documents were recovered from his possession during the raid.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said the government will approach the Supreme Court against the arbitrary and anti-democratic decision of the Governor to cancel the permission of holding a special session of the Vidhan Sabha after giving permission for it. He said it is an unfortunate move and they will move to the apex court against this irrational decision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Japan on September 27 to attend the state funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. He will also separately meet his counterpart, Fumio Kishida during the visit, it said.
The village leaders have asked the parents of Dalit boy Ramesh and Shobha not to enter village until they pay the fine amount. Miscreants are also making threatening calls to the boy's mother.
The accused Shahabaz alias Chhote and Uved (brother of Nadeem) were arrested by the local police on July 21, however, Nadeem went absconding. Nadeem alias Sher Khan, is a bad character of Jyoti Nagar police station.
