NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on Tuesday, to mark 75 years of the adoption of India’s Constitution. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will attend the event.
Speaking to reporters, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju termed the event a “historic occasion”. “We will sit in the very same chamber where the Constituent Assembly sittings happened and the Constitution was adopted,” he said.
The Prime Minister will not be addressing the event and accused “some of the Opposition parties” of giving reactions without knowing the actual arrangement. The Speaker, Vice-President and the President of India will speak, he said.
“Secondly, we have made sitting arrangements for the leader of Opposition of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the dais. Without knowing anything, this kind of reaction on a very solemn occasion is condemnable,” Rijiju said.
His remarks came in the wake of leaders of various INDIA bloc parties writing to the Lok Sabha Speaker to allow Opposition leaders of both the Houses to speak during the Constitution Day function.
“We are writing in the context of the function being held in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India. We understand that the function will be addressed by the President, Vice-President and the Prime Minister of India,” the letter signed by leaders of various parties said. “We believe that in the best traditions and interests of Parliamentary democracy, the Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in both Houses should also be given an opportunity to speak on this historic occasion,” it said.
The Centre also said that a new website has been created to enable citizens to engage with the legacy of the Constitution.