New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a veiled swipe at the opposition for their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
The PM arrived in Delhi today after concluding a three-nation visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Referring to his community event in Sydney recently that saw a crowd of over 20,000 people turn up to hear him, PM Modi said that not only the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, was in the audience, but also the country's former PM and opposition MPs who were together for the sake of their nation.
"The former Prime Minister was also present in that function. There were MPs from the opposition and the ruling party. All of them took part in the community event," the PM said.
The PM also slammed the opposition for questioning Centre for exporting Covid vaccine to foreign countries during the peak of the pandemic.
"In times of crises, they asked why Modi was giving vaccines to the world. Remember, it's the land of Buddha, it's the land of Gandhi! We care even for our enemies, we are the people inspired by compassion!" PM Modi said.
The new parliament building will be inaugurated by the PM on Sunday, however, the event will see nearly zero representation from the opposition. As many as 20 parties have announced that they will be boycotting the inauguration.
"Prime Minister Modi's decision to inaugurate the new parliament building by himself, completely sidelining President Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy... This undignified act insults the high office of the President and violates the letter and spirit of the constitution. It undermines the spirit of inclusion which saw the nation celebrate its first woman Adivasi President," the opposition parties said in a statement.
"Undemocratic acts are not new to the Prime Minister, who has relentlessly hollowed out the parliament. opposition Members of parliament have been disqualified, suspended and muted when they raised the issues of the people of India... When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the parliament, we find no value in a new building," they added.
Launching a sharp counter-attack on the opposition, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) labelled the decision to boycott the inauguration as a "blatant affront to democratic ethos and constitutional values of our great nation".