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India's new Parliament: RJD shockingly compares building's design with a coffin

Taking to Twitter, the party shared a photo of a coffin and asked 'Yeh kya hai (What is this?)', seeming to indicate that the new Parliament building was coffin shaped. The RJD post elicited sharp criticism from social media users who slammed the party for its pathetic views.

New Parliament: RJD shockingly compares building's design with a coffin
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First Published May 28, 2023, 9:45 AM IST

On the day India celebrated the unveiling of the new Parliament building, the Rashtriya Janata Dal triggered a controversy by equating the structure's design with that of a coffin. Taking to Twitter, the party shared a photo of a coffin and asked 'Yeh kya hai (What is this?)', seeming to indicate that the new Parliament building was coffin shaped.

The RJD post elicited sharp criticism from social media users who slammed the party for its pathetic views. The BJP's Bihar unit responded to the tweet saying, "The first picture is your future and the second is of India. Understood?"

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla termed RJD's tweet "disgusting" while another spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the coffin belongs to the RJD and the Parliament to the country.

"This is the level to which they have fallen. Disgusting. This will prove to be the final nail in the coffin of RJD's politics. Trikon or Tribhuj (triangles) has much significance in Indian system. By the way, the coffin is hexagonal or has six sided polygon," Poonawalla said on Twitter. 

Bhatia said, "Today is a historic moment and the country is proud. You are merely a 'Nazarbattu' (a symbol to ward off evil eye) and nothing else. Keep beating your chest."

"In 2024, the people of the country will bury you in this coffin and will not even give you a chance to enter the temple of new democracy. Let it also be decided that the coffin is yours and Parliament of the country," he said, using the hashtag "MyParliamentMyPride".

The new Parliament was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. He then carried the symbol of transfer of power, the Sengol, in a procession amid tunes of the 'nadaswaram' and Vedic chants to the new Parliament building and installed it in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.

As many as 20 opposition parties, including the Congress, boycotted the event contending that it should be done by President Droupadi Murmu. The opposition parties have argued that President Murmu should inaugurate the new building as she is not only the Head of State, but also an integral part of Parliament as she summons, prorogues, and addresses the institution.

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday defended the Opposition's decision, saying he was a Member of Parliament for several years and the existing building, a colonial-era structure, was in a good state. Pawar said he read in newspapers that a new Parliament building is being constructed. 

'Now that the construction is done, we were not consulted on the inauguration of the (Parliament) building. As per norms, the President of India addresses the first session (of Parliament) every year. So, it is obvious that the President should inaugurate the new building. Since no one is being taken into confidence, senior opposition leaders felt that we should stay away and I agree with it,' he said.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar too echoed a similar opinion. He said, "There is no need for a new Parliament building... Those who had no contribution to the country's fight for independence are trying to distort history. It is quite surprising that the President of India and the Vice-President, who is the chairman of Rajya Sabha, have not been invited to the inauguration programme, Kumar, who had been a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

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