INDIA clashes with government over speech at Constitution Day event

Leaders of various INDIA bloc parties have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to allow opposition leaders in both Houses of Parliament to speak during the Constitution Day event on Tuesday.

IMAGE: Lok Sabha hearings continue during the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on November 25, 2024.Photo: ANI Photo/Sansad TV

President Draupadi Murmu will lead the celebrations at the central hall of the old Parliament complex to mark the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, the government announced on Monday.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Speaker Birla will also speak at the event, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said later.

However, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not address the event and accused “some opposition parties” of giving reactions without knowing the actual agreement.

Following this clarification, both the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are likely to attend the event and take seats on the dais.

“We are writing in the context of an event to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) at the central hall of the Samvidhana Sadan to mark the 75th anniversary of the Constitution of India. We understand that this event will be chaired by the President, Vice President of India. The President and Prime Minister of India,” said the letter signed by leaders of various opposition parties.

“We believe that, in the best traditions and interests of parliamentary democracy, the leaders of the opposition in both houses should also be given the opportunity to speak on this historic occasion,” it added.

The letter was signed by T. R. Baalu, Tiruchi Siva, Kanimozhi, Supriya Sule, Raghav Chadha, P. Sandosh Kumar, E. T. Mohammed Basheer, K. Radhakrishnan, Ramji Lal Suman and N. K. Premachandran.

Rijiju said, “The problem with some opposition parties is that without knowing the actual agreement, they have started retaliating.”

“The Prime Minister won’t even speak tomorrow. The Speaker, Vice President and President of India will speak,” he said.

“Secondly, we have arranged for Opposition leaders of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to sit on the dais. Without knowing anything, such a reaction to a very solemn occasion is condemnable,” Rijiju said.

The Union Minister also said that the celebration of Constitution Day is above politics and is a holiday of the country.

Earlier, the leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA met before the start of the winter session of Parliament and decided to raise the issue of alleged corruption in the Adani group and demand the convening of a JPC on this issue.

The session leaders met at the Parliament House in the office of Congress President and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge.

Several Opposition members, including Kharge, have notified both Houses of adjournment on the issue.