'Party-specific' events: Adhir Ranjan defends Oppn's decision to boycott Constitution Day celebrations

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Stating that the Constitution Day celebration is a 'specific party' event, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday said if it is a Constitution day then the government should have allowed everybody to speak on the occasion.

"If it has been a Constitution day then the government should have allowed everybody to speak on the occasion. Only three-four people in the government will on this not occasion is not right. It is not a government function but a party-specific event," Chowdhury said.

The Congress and several other parties, including the Left parties, TMC, NCP, DMK, Shiv Sena, IUML, RSP and the RJD, did not attend the Constitution Day event in Parliament's Central Hall.

Speaking on the withdrawal of three farm laws, Chowdhury said that this is the "rollback" government.

"First it brought farm laws with discussion then now is repealing. Similarly, in 2015, the government passed an ordinance on land acquisition bill and had to take it back," he said. 

The Congress on Friday said it did not participate in the Constitution Day event in the Central Hall of Parliament in protest and to remind the country that the Constitution is not being respected and is being undermined instead.

Senior spokesperson of Congress Anand Sharma said the protest was against the "authoritarian" functioning of the BJP government as laws are enacted bypassing parliamentary scrutiny and parliamentary democracy is insulted.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at family-run parties and said they are danger to democracy as they go against the spirit of democracy.

Hitting back at the prime minister, Sharma said he wants to change history itself and obliterate the memory of those who sacrificed for the freedom of the country.

"The BJP had no role in the freedom struggle which Mahatma Gandhi led. All leaders were Congressmen. The BJP is seeking out these leaders. They know their ancestors had no role in the freedom struggle. Rather, they were complicit with the British who crushed the freedom movement," he said.

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