The BJP on Thursday sharpened its attack on Congress and other opposition parties for boycotting the new Parliament building inauguration ceremony on May 28. Senior party leaders called it petty politics and appealed to the opposition to rethink the boycott.

Union home minister Amit Shah said that Congress and its allies are resorting to dirty politics by boycotting the event, adding that Prime Minister Modi will romp back to power for a third consecutive term by winning over 300 Lok Sabha seats.

Addressing the ceremony to hand over job appointment letters in Guwahati, Shah said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the new Parliament building to the nation on May 28 while the Congress and its allies are resorting to dirty politics and boycotting the event. They are making an excuse that the President should inaugurate the same.”

He added, “The groundbreaking ceremony of the Assembly in Chhattisgarh was done by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the chief minister. The Governor, a tribal, was not even called. Jharkhand Assembly’s groundbreaking was done by Hemant Soren, the same was the case in Assam where Tarun Gogoi led the ceremony and in Manipur where Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh led the ceremony.”

He added, “In Andhra Pradesh, it was done by Chandrababu Naidu. In Tamil Nadu, it was done by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and the chief minister. I want to ask Congress when you do, it is alright but when Modi does it, you boycott it.”

Shah said the people of the country have elected Modi as PM twice with over two-thirds majority. “It is the people’s mandate and does not depend on the wishes of Congress. Modi is not allowed to speak in Parliament. Whenever he does an event, they boycott it. Congress boycot does not have any relevance as people’s wishes are with Modi.”

He added, “People of the country want Parliament to be new where there is discussion, thinking and thought for the new India. You are doing this, and 130 crore are watching. This time you will lose the Opposition status and Modi will come back for the third time with over 300 seats.” The home minister said those allying with Congress will meet the same fate as Congress.Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference in Chennai and appealed and requested the opposition parties to rethink their decision of boycotting the inauguration event. “It’s a temple of democracy, even PM Narendra Modi entered Parliament by bowing on its steps. I humbly request and appeal (to the Opposition), to kindly participate in the ceremony,” she said.

Modi’s veiled attack on congress

Meanwhile, recalling the community program held in Sydney, Modi launched a veiled attack on the opposition parties on their decision to boycott the inauguration of the parliament building. He said, “the programme was not special just due to the presence of the Australian PM, but also because former PM and opposition leaders too attended it. It was a great display of democracy.”