PM Modi had yesterday inaugurated the majestic bronze ‘Ashoka Stambha’, India’s National Emblem on the roof of the new parliament building under construction at Central Vista. Stunning visuals of the new emblem made headlines yesterday on 11 July.
The emblem structure is made up of bronze and weighs roughly 9500 kgs. It is 6.5 metres tall and has been cast at the top of the main foyer of the new parliament building. Another steel structure constructed to support the emblem weighs around 6500 kgs.
This morning, I had the honour of unveiling the National Emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament. pic.twitter.com/T49dOLRRg1
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 11, 2022
However, since it was PM Modi, the Central Vista Project, a proud symbol of India, and a traditional Puja by a Hindu priest for the inauguration all combined together, the meltdown by the usual whining suspects was quite expected. They proved to be exactly as predictable as always.
Asaduddin Owaisi stated that it was against the ‘constitutional norms’ for the PM to lead the ceremony, as Lok Sabha is not subordinate to the government’.
Constitution separates powers of parliament, govt & judiciary. As head of govt, @PMOIndia shouldn’t have unveiled the national emblem atop new parliament building. Speaker of Lok Sabha represents LS which isn’t subordinate to govt. @PMOIndia has violated all constitutional norms pic.twitter.com/kiuZ9IXyiv
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 11, 2022
The Wire’s boss S Varadrajan objected to the ‘Hindu’ ceremony. He proclaimed that PM Modi should say his prayers at home and if he wants to do it in the open it should not be at an official event of the Indian Union. He even called the PM a ‘repeat offender’ in this regard.
So, as per S Varadarajan, doing a Puja is an offence committed by the Prime Minister of India.
The Opposition had its own trauma. Congress fumed that it was not invited to the program, even though it was quite visible that it was a low-key ceremony and not many people were there, even prominent ministers of the government and senior BJP leaders were missing.
Also, Congress has been against the entire Central Vista project and has been fighting it tooth and nail. It was amusing to see that they were fuming over not being invited to the small ceremony of the unveiling of the emblem.
The Left parties went a step ahead. They were more ‘team Varadarajan’ and proclaimed that the Puja ceremony was wrong. CPM said, “National Emblem installation should not be linked to religious ceremonies. It is everyone’s emblem not those who have some religious beliefs. Keep religion separate from national functions.”
CPM’s Sitaram Yechury went a step ahead and straightaway declared the event as ‘unconstitutional’. As per Yechuri, the constitution separates the 3 wings of democracy- the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.
PM unveiling the national emblem on top of the new Parliament building is a clear violation of our Constitution. The Constitution unambiguously separates the 3 wings of our democracy – the Executive (government), the Legislature (Parliament and state assemblies) & the Judiciary. pic.twitter.com/EOEemrZ9qU
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) July 11, 2022
Yechury’s thought process seems weird. The PM was not there undermining Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, the PM was not overstepping or meddling in any parliamentary process. The PM was not declaring himself as the Supreme Leader of the parliament there. The current parliament runs in the old building. That parliament is NOT IN SESSION as of now.
The Central Vista project is by the Central government. The new parliament building is still under construction and when the new building is functional and Lok Sabha is convened in that new building, Speaker Om Birla will preside over it. The Lok Sabha or its MPs are not funding or managing the construction of the new parliament building, the government is. So the head of the government, the PM, has all the right to preside over any ceremonies associated with the project.
The problem is Hinduphobia, and hatred for PM Modi
In fact, the reason behind most of the negative comments and statements is the same, “How dare Modi”? How did Modi dare to unfurl a roaring, majestic symbol of Indian sovereignty on the top of a brand new parliament building that will be his legacy in the very heart of Delhi? How dare he flaunt his ‘Hinduness’ so openly? How dare he ‘change’ Lutyen’s Delhi to India’s Delhi?
We have seen similar outbursts of frustration and negativity each time PM Modi lets everyone know that he is not ashamed of his Hindu identity, but he asserts it proudly. Be it the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the visits to Kedarnath, the Bhoomi Pujan at Ayodhya or the dozens of other instances where PM Modi has let every Indian know that Hindu Dharma is not confined to some narrow religious confines of a mere belief, but it is India’s civilisational identity, the Left and its ecosystem suffers a collective meltdown.
There is no reason why a Puja should not be done at an inauguration or unveiling ceremony. Sanatan Dharma is the civilisational fabric of this land, a couple of words forcefully added into the preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency cannot change this truth. We may be secular in our policies, and administration, but India is a Hindu country. The Left should just learn to deal with it.
