Taking a dig at the opposition parties for their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building in the national capital on May 28, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that there were at least five instances when the non-BJP ruled states did not invite the Governor for laying the foundation/inaugurating a new Assembly building.
He cited the example of 2014 when in states ruled by the Congress or its allies, such as Assam and Jharkhand, the Chief Ministers did not invite the Governor for the same. Sarma also said that in 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had laid the foundation stone for a new Assembly building without inviting the Governor.
According to Sarma, Sonia Gandhi also laid the foundation stone for the Chhattisgarh Assembly, when the Governor did not receive an invitation.He also gave a recent example from Telangana, where Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao did not invite the Governor and inaugurated the new Assembly premises himself.
Sarma said, "The boycott is obvious. They (opposition parties) had opposed the construction of the Parliament House. They never thought that the construction work would be completed so soon."According to Sarma, "Just to save their face, the opposition parties are now enacting the drama of a boycott, but they actually never supported the project."
The Congress and 18 other opposition parties have issued a joint statement to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. The opposition parties have denounced plans by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the new building, instead of President Droupadi Murmu.