Congress alleges President Murmu not invited for Parliament inauguration, calls it ‘unconstitutional’

The Indian National Congress on Monday alleged that the President of India Droupadi Murmu has not been invited for the inauguration of the new Parliament building. The allegation comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi noted that President Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be inaugurating the new Parliament Building.

The inauguration of the new parliament building will take place on 28 May.

Congress leader MP Anand Sharma during a press address said, “It is not constitutionally correct to take major decision about the Parliament of India, excluding the head of the parliament- the President of India, from the decision-making from the foundation stone laying, now for the inauguration”.

The Congress MP cited Article 79 for their allegations and said the article makes it ‘crystal clear’ that the Parliament of India comprises of the President of India, who is the head of the Parliament. 

The Indian Parliament's official statement had stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building in New Delhi in May. The statement said that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre seeks to shed India's colonial past in a move that has irked conservationists.

On Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that President should inaugurate the new Parliament building, not the prime minister. The New Parliament building is a triangular-shaped four-storey building with a built-up area of 64,500 square metres. The Congress has called the new Parliament building PM Modi's vanity project.

The inauguration is set to take place on 28 May, which is also the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. Lok Sabha secretariat said Speaker Om Birla met PM Modi this week and invited him to inaugurate the new building.

Construction of a new building began on 10 December 2020, when Modi laid the foundation stone and called the building an intrinsic part of a "self-reliant India".

The Parliament's statement said the new building would accommodate 888 members in the lower house and 300 members in the upper house, as compared to the current 543 and 250, respectively.

The new Parliament is part of Modi's plan to redevelop the historical heart of New Delhi called the Central Vista.

Project architect Bimal Patel said in an interview with The Indian Express in 2020 that the revamp would "respect history".