"If not PM, then who else will?": Giriraj Singh lauds PM's Parliament decision amid row

New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): As 21 Opposition parties boycotted the new Parliament building inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, Union Rural Development Minister Shandilya Giriraj Singh has sided with the Modi-led NDA Government and asked them to name a better candidate than the PM for the task.
"PM Modi worked for making India's image strong in the world. Parties have reached the level where they are comparing Parliament with a coffin just for opposing the PM. I want to ask them: Will they come in this coffin for the next session or not? If the PM of the country will not do it, then who else will?" the Rural Development Minister said while talking to ANI.
Indian politics is witnessing an intense verbal tussle over the inauguration of the new Parliament building as the Opposition believes that it should have been inaugurated by the President instead of the PM.
In a bit to take a jibe against the new building, the RJD recently tweeted a picture of a coffin and the new parliament building.
The RJD on its official handle at the microblogging site had captioned the tweet as 'Yeh kya hai? (What is this?), drawing sharp criticism from various quarters including the BJP.
The comparison triggered a political slugfest where the BJP is also terming it as 'treason'.
However, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has said that he was not aware of what is happening.
"I have not seen yet. I do not know, will see," he said.
Several opposition parties boycotted the inauguration of the new parliament building, saying that that it "insults the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution".
In a joint statement, the like-minded opposition parties said that Prime Minister's decision to inaugurate the building by himself is "a direct assault on our democracy, which demands a commensurate response." (ANI)