On Sunday, protests were held here by the Jharkhand branch of the Congress, the CPI, and a few tribal groups to express their displeasure with the Centre for “not inviting” President Droupadi Murmu to the opening of the new Parliament building. Rajesh Thakur, head of the state Congress, said that refusing to invite the head to the inauguration would be “disrespectful to the Constitution.”
Inaugurating the new Parliament building in New Delhi earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the hope that it will serve as a place of empowerment, kindling and nurturing aspirations into reality.
On posters bearing the phrase “Rashtrapati Ke Samman Mein, Congress Hai Maidan Mein” (at honour of the President, Congress is on roadways), Congress activists gathered beside the monument of Birsa Munda at Ranchi’s Birsa Chowk.
“Today’s inauguration of the new parliament building is undoubtedly a source of national pride. The President, however, was not a guest at the gathering. We think it was disrespectful to the Constitution to not extend an invitation to the President for the inauguration. So, we’re here to oppose the authoritarian policies of the Centre,” Thakur added.
Ram Nath Kovind, who was president at the time, said that he was not invited to the foundation-laying ceremony for the new Parliament building. Currently, President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the building’s opening. It seems that the BJP chose to treat her disrespectfully. It’s bad for democracy that the constitutional procedures have been disregarded, he remarked.
At Ranchi’s Albert Ekka Chowk, Left parties and several tribal groups also commemorated Black Day in protest of what they said was the President’s apparent disregard during the inauguration. Mahendra Pathak, state secretary for the Communist Party of India, stated: “The BJP administration at the Centre has shown its authoritarianism by not inviting the President. This is a bad day for the nation.