Chennai: A day after numerous political parties decided to boycott the May 28 inauguration of the new Parliament building on the grounds that President Droupadi Murmu was not invited for the event, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman countered that these very parties had disrespected Murmu before she was elected to the highest office in the country.
Interacting with journalists at the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan on Thursday, the minister said the opposition parties that were now hailing Murmu as an eminent leader from a tribal community, had “abused her”. “I do not wish to recall the kind of words they used at that time,” she said adding the parties had then said Murmu will only be a rubber stamp President and organised a bitter campaign against her candidature.
Sitharaman was accompanied by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi and the Governors of Telangana (Tamilisai Soundararajan) and Nagaland (L Ganesan) and Union Minister of State L Murugan (all hailing from Tamil Nadu) and State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekarbabu, to explain the decision to install the 1947 spectre made in Tamil Nadu at the new Parliament building. “This is a matter of pride for Tamil Nadu,” she told journalists.
Nirmala slams Opposition
Going hammer and tongs at the opposition, the finance minister said they had dubbed Murmu as an evil force “obviously, they had the RSS in mind”. “Today suddenly they feel that we have to recognise her,” she added.
“Our Prime Minister gives her due respect. All of us are extremely proud of our Rashtrapati ji,” she added.
She argued that Sonia Gandhi, as Congress president, had inaugurated the new Assembly building in Chhattisgarh and not the Governor of the State, which was against the logic being put forth by the opposition now.
Interjecting, Tamilisai said she was not invited to the inauguration of the new Assembly building Telangana. “They are saying the President is a non-partisan figure, but did not see the Governor as such,” she said.
Finance Ministers urges Opposition leaders to reconsider their decision
Urging the opposition to reconsider the decision to boycott the Parliament building inauguration, Sitharaman said it was a temple of democracy where Modi had paid respect by touching his forehead in 2014 before entering the building.
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