Anurag Thakur lashes out at Opposition over boycott of new Parliament inauguration

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday hit out at the Opposition for its decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building, saying it was an "insult".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the new Parliament building on Sunday and 20 Opposition parties, including Congress, AAP, TMC and Samajwadi Party, have announced a boycott of the function contending that President Droupadi Murmu should do the honours.

"It is a different matter that some people got barred from Parliament. Earlier, they used to find excuses for not allowing Parliament to function. Now, they are talking of boycott which is also an insult," Thakur said.

The minister for information and broadcasting was addressing the inaugural session of a day-long national conclave organised by Doordarshan to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Modi government.

India takes pride in being the "mother of democracy" and Prime Minister Modi has given a new Parliament building to the nation, which is the world's largest democracy, said Thakur.

Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra and Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi attended the inaugural session of the conclave. 

A booklet titled "9 Years -- Seva, Sushasan, Garib Kalyan", listing the achievement of the Modi government, was also released on the occasion.