NEW DELHI: In the historic moment of the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, the political parties got divided into two groups. Despite the principal opposition party Congress and 20 others boycotting the event, the odds were stacked in favour of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
While 20 parties, including the Congress, decided to skip the event on the ground that the unveiling of the new Parliament building should have been done by President Droupadi Murmu, Asasuddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) demanded Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to inaugurate the structure.
All these 21 parties decided to boycott the grand function to protest the inauguration of the new structure by PM Modi. The function included handing over of Sengol (holy spectre from Tamil Nadu) by Modi to Birla as a symbolic gesture.
On May 24, Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal announced that 19 opposition parties had collectively resolved to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. “Parliament is sacrosanct, and as the Head of State, Hon’ble President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu ji is the only authority that can preside over the solemn occasion of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. PM Modi inaugurating the new premises is unsurprising, but appalling nonetheless. As the opposition, we refuse to participate in this charade designed solely to feed the PM’s megalomania.”
Though the Supreme Court on May 26 rejected a PIL demanding President Murmu to inaugurate the building, these 21 parties went ahead with their boycott plan.
A minute look at the strength of the political parties in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha clearly indicates that the odds are in favour of the ruling BJP-led NDA.
Boycotting parties’ strength in Lok Sabha
At present, there are 539 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Though the Congress has claimed the support of 19 political parties, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) do not have any MPs in the Lower House.
Alongwith AIMIM, the 21 parties together have 156 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Effectively, 156 Lok Sabha MPs of 19 parties would be absent during the unveiling ceremony.
While the Congress has 51 MPs, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has 24, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1, Shiv Sena (Udhav Balasaheb Thackeray) [SS(UBT)] 6, Samajwadi Party (SP) 3, Communist Party of India (CPI) 2, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] 3, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) 1, Kerala Congress (Mani) [KC(M)] 1, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) 1, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) 0, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 0, All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) 23, Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] 16, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 5, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) 3, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) 3, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) 1, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) 9, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) 1 and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has 2 MPs.
Boycotting parties’ strength in Rajya Sabha
The situation is also similar in the Rajya Sabha. In the 245-member Upper House which at present has 238 MPs, the 21 parties amongst them have 104 MPs.
In fact, out of these 21 parties, four do not have any MPs in the Rajya Sabha. They are Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and AIMIM.
Effectively, 104 MPs of 17 parties were not be present when the new Parliament building was inaugurated on Sunday.
While the Congress has 31 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, DMK has 10, AAP 10, Shiv Sena (UBT) 3, SP 3, CPI 2, CPM 5, JMM 2, Kerala Congress (M) 1, VCK 0, NC 0, RSP 0, AIMIM 0, RLD 1, TMC 12, JD(U) 5, NCP 4, RJD 6, IUML 1, TRS 7 and MDMK has 1 MP in the house.
There is a clear divide in the opposition camp. While 21 boycotted the event, several others decided to attend the grand function. They include Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular), Sukhbir Singh Badal-headed Shiromani Akali Dal and Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).
The BJP-led NDA and some opposition parties which attended the ceremony heavily outnumber those which boycotted it.
Attending parties’ strength in Lok Sabha
Of the 539 Lok Sabha MPs, a whopping 382 were witness to the inaugural ceremony. These MPs belong to 19 political parties, two more than those who boycotted the function.
Besides, there are three independent MPs who did not declare that they would be boycotting the ceremony.
Of the 382 MPs attending the inauguration of the new Parliament building, BJP alone has 301. The others include All Jharkhand Students Union Party (AJSUP) which has 1 MP in the Lok Sabha, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga (AIADMK) also has 1 MP, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has 1, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 9, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) 12, Independents 3, Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] 1, Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJSP) 6, Mizo National Front (MNF) 1, Naga Peoples Front (NPF) 1, National People’s Party (NPP) 1, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) 1, Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party (RLP) 1, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) 2, Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann) {SAD(M)} 1, Shiv Sena 13, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) 1, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) 3 and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) 22.
Attending parties’ strength in Rajya Sabha
Of the 238 Rajya Sabha MPs, 131 MPs were expected to attend the ceremony. They did not declare that they would boycott it.
Of these 131 MPs, BJP has 93, AIADMK 4, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) 1, BSP 1, BJD 9, JD(S) 1, MNF 1, NPP 1, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) 1, Republican Party of India (Athawale) 1, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) 1, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) 1, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) 1, United Peoples Party (Liberal) 1 and YSRCP 9.
Five nominated Rajya Sabha MPs are also part of the 131 parliamentarians who may attend the inaugural function. They are Ranjan Gogoi, Dharmasthala Veerendra, Ilaiyaraaja, P T Usha and V Vijayendra Prasad.
