Cong slams BJP over reports about 'Lotus' being printed on parliament staff new uniform

The Congress Tuesday accused the BJP of making the "Parliament a one-sided partisan thing" amid reports that the ruling party's poll symbol 'Lotus' is being printed on the new uniform for Parliament staff.

Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore questioned why the 'Lotus' was being added and not a tiger or a peacock, the national animal and the national bird respectively.

"Why lotus only? Why can't a peacock or why can't a tiger? Oh, they're not BJP party election symbol. Why this fall sir Om Birla," Tagore said on X, using the hashtag "#NewDressforParliamentStaff".

A media suggested the Parliament staff will have a new dress code with the Lotus printed on it.

"Why is the government not ready to put Tiger in the Parliament staff's dress, because Tiger is the national animal. Why are they not ready to put the Peacock, which is the national bird, in the dress? But they chose to put the Lotus in the dress code of the Parliamentary staff, because the BJP's symbol is the Lotus," Tagore said in a statement.

"How cheap they are. They did it in G20 also. Now also they are doing it and saying it is the national flower.

"This kind of pettiness is not right. Hope the BJP grows up and not make the Parliament a one-sided partisan thing," he alleged.

Tagore said the Parliament is becoming a part of a party's symbol.

"It is unfortunate. The Parliament was above all parties. It shows that the BJP is interfering in every other institution," he said.