New Parliament building country's property, will attend its inauguration: HD Deve Gowda
Bengaluru (PTI): JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said he will be attending the inauguration of the new Parliament building in New Delhi on May 28, saying it is a property of the country and built from taxpayers' money.
The JD(S) patriarch questioned whether it was the office of the BJP and RSS for boycotting its inauguration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to inaugurate the building on Sunday.
"I am attending the inauguration of the new Parliament building. It is the property of the country. It is not anyone's personal matter," Gowda said.
Speaking at the JD(S) introspection meeting following Karnataka Assembly poll results here, he said it is not anyone's personal programme, it is a country's programme.
"That magnificent building was built with the tax money of the people of the country. It belongs to the country. It is not a BJP or RSS office," he said, adding he is participating in the inauguration of the new Parliament building as a former Prime Minister and a citizen of the country.
As of now 21 opposition parties have said they will not be attending the inauguration ceremony, primarily taking exception to Modi doing the honours rather than President Droupadi Murmu.
Stating that he has many reasons to oppose BJP politically, Gowda, according to an official release said, "I do not like to bring politics in the matter of opening the Parliament building."
"I have been elected to both houses of Parliament. I have performed duty there in the constitutional framework, and I still am a member (of the Rajya Sabya)," he said.
"I have worked to protect the values of the Constitution. Therefore, I cannot bring politics into the matter of the Constitution," he added.
Noting that many parties have boycotted the inauguration of the Parliament building and many have asked him whether he will attend it or not, being a former PM, Gowda said, "I want to tell them that I am committed to the Constitution and will go to the inauguration of the Parliament building."
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Surat LS candidate Nilesh Kumbhani whose nomination form was rejected suspended from Congress
Ahmedabad, Apr 25: The Gujarat Congress on Friday suspended from the party for six years its Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies leading to the BJP's Mukesh Dalal getting elected unopposed.
A statement from the Congress said the party's disciplinary committee decided to suspend Kumbhani after thorough discussion, adding it had come to the conclusion that the nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or "in connivance with the BJP".
"To be fair to you we have given time to you to explain your case but instead of coming before the party disciplinary committee you have gone incommunicado. After your form was rejected by the authorities, BJP went ahead and got form of other eight candidates withdrawn. This has deprived people of Surat their voting rights," the Congress disciplinary committee headed by Balu Patel said.
"People of Surat and party workers have become very angry due to your action and are expressing their anger in different ways. The Congress party has decided to suspend you for six years from the party," the press note said.
Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected on April 21 after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on the document was not theirs.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated on the same grounds.
In his order, Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said the three nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie discrepancy was found in the signatures of the proposers and they did not appear to be genuine.
Kumbhani, a former corporator from Surat, had unsuccessfully fought the 2022 Assembly polls from Kamrej there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha constituency on April 22 after all other nominees, including one from BSP, withdrew from the fray one by one on the last day of withdrawing papers.
