Bhubaneswar, May 25 (IANS): Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Odisha Assembly Narasingha Mishra on Thursday strongly criticised Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over BJD's decision to take part in the inauguration ceremony of new Parliament building in Delhi.
Speaking to media persons, Mishra said the opposition parties have decided to boycott the inauguration event as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself decided to inaugurate the building to get cheap political mileage.
"The new Parliament House should be inaugurated by the first citizen of India, President Droupadi Murmu, so that the prestige of the President will not be harmed, and the mandate of the people will not be ignored," he said.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had described Murmu as his sister and a tribal daughter of the soil during the Presidential election and lobbied for candidature, Mishra said.
"Now where is his love for his sister, tribal daughter and Odisha," the Congress leader questioned.
"With this decision, Naveen has proved that he will always abide by what Modi desires. I condemn his decision, which is against constitutional practices and Odisha," he said.
Reacting to this issue, senior BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy said, "Our Chief Minister's decision is very clear. All our MPs will attend the inauguration of the new Parliament House. We respect the Constitution and democracy. Our Constitution has given a special importance to Parliament. So, we should not play politics, at least on the inaugural day."
Further, it is the prerogative of the Lok Sabha Speaker to invite or not. So, all should obey the decision of the Speaker, Satpathy said.
The BJD leader accused the Congress of doing politics over a 'non-issue'. He also raised questions over the role of Congress during the Presidential election.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has welcomed the decision of BJD to attend the momentous event.
"Not any single party but all had fought for India's Independence. We might have different ideologies and political views. But all who believe in democracy should grace the occasion. I welcome BJD's decision," Pradhan said.