New Parliament Row: 270 ex-bureaucrats, defence officers & academicians writes letter condemning Opposition’s boycott

270 eminent citizens, including 88 retired bureaucrats consisting of 10 ambassadors, 100 retired armed forces officers and 82 academicians, have written an open letter condemning the behaviour of opposition parties boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

The open letter, dated May 26, states that the inauguration of the new Parliament building is a moment of pride for India and all Indians. Furthermore, the letter states that the term “All Indians” is self-explanatory”; however, “the opposition with its skeletal arguments, immature, whimsy and hollow reasoning, and most of all flagrant display of non-democratic posturing, just doesn’t get it!”

“The democratically elected Prime Minister of India, who has inspired a billion Indians with his authenticity, inclusive policies, strategic vision, commitment to deliver and most of all, his Indianness is unpalatable to the Congress and other opposition parties with a similar worldview,” the letter read.

The letter added, “The reason for this is very simple. In a contrast between India First and Family first brand of politics, how can the Family First driven parties reconcile to an India First approach. So naturally all the family first parties – either structurally or in thought – have come together to boycott all that represents India.”

On May 24, nineteen opposition parties, including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Janata Dal (United), announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building which is scheduled for May 28.

The opposition parties released a joint statement stating, “The inauguration of a new Parliament building is a momentous occasion. Despite our belief that the government is threatening democracy, and our disapproval of the autocratic manner in which the new Parliament was built, we were open to sinking our differences and marking this occasion. However, 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 which demands a commensurate response.”

“We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. We will continue to fight – in letter, in spirit, and in substance – against this authoritarian Prime Minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India” the opposition’s joint statement reads.

The open statement by these 270 eminent citizens claims that “Those that are boycotting the inauguration of the Parliament by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just don’t get how they are the ones that are “sucking the soul of democracy”. They are following their own formulaic undemocratic, routine and baseless “boycotts”.”

The statement points out that the opposition parties boycotting the inauguration ceremony have boycotted other non-partisan event of the Parliament as well. The statement submits that the Congress decided to boycott the Parliament’s midnight session for GST launch in 2017.

In 2020, the opposition parties boycotted Lok Sabha “to support eight Rajya Sabha members who were suspended for despicable unruly behavior.” Furthermore, in 2021, the Congress along with other opposition parties “had boycotted ‘Samvidhan Divas’ – this being the second time in a row that the Opposition Parties had boycotted the President’s Parliamentary Address.”

“In the 2022 Monsoon Session, the Congress whipped up yet another non-existent issue of Inflation and added to that the completely unnecessary issue of GST. One cannot forget the same very gang boycotting the joint session of Parliament on Constitution Day, honouring Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” read the statement.

While the opposition parties’ joint statement claims that the Prime Minister inaugurating the new Parliament building instead of the President of India is a direct assault on our democracy, the eminent citizens state that it is the opposition’s modus operandi which constitutes “a grave insult…direct assault on our democracy.”

“The opposition doesn’t get that resorting to its modus-operandi to hold placards and vociferous sloganeering, disrespecting the most important institutions of the country, and even using household items such as milk packets to show their protest is what is “authoritarian”, is what constitutes “a grave insult…direct assault on our democracy”,” the statement read.

The statement stated, “They just don’t get that they are the ones “side-lining” the Hon’ble President Draupadi Murmu,” in response to the opposition’s joint statement pointing out the importance of the office of the President. The statement points out that the opposition boycotted the President’s customary speech to the joint session ahead of the Union Budget in 2023. Furthermore, the statement said, “one cannot forget the heaps of insults inflicted on her by this very Congress Party including calling her ‘Rashtrapatni’!”

“It is a matter of extreme despondency in the context of Indian democracy that the Congress Party, which calls itself the oldest political party has decided to needlessly cry foul. In 2012, the then Speaker Meira Kumar observed that the Parliament, with its cracks and absence of emergency measures, was ‘silently weeping’. Now, do they think that the old building is bulging with efficient opulence? Maybe they do, because they just don’t get it,” said the eminent citizens in their open statement.

The statement adds, “The nature of the present Congress Party has always been undemocratic and their hubris has always come in way of the nation’s progress. Of course, to expect any largesse of heart or soul or to be imbued simply by the pride of being an India is expecting too much of the Congress party. They – as has been belaboured – just don’t get it. But what The Congress party also does not get, along with its allies, is that the Indian people get it. If only the Congress and its allies would ponder deeper, would they get that it is not the soul of democracy that has been lost but that the opposition’s popularity which has been lost.”

The statement concludes, “We, the concerned citizens of India, condemn the non- democratic and posturing of the opposition parties. We resolve to stand by the country, stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As Indians. Just Indians.”