Nation

Historic Shift Today As India Gets New Parliament House — 10 Points

September 19, 2023
Bharat Times

Parliament Special Session: Tuesday, September 19, 2023 will be written in the history books as India is set to witness the shifting of parliamentary proceedings from the old building to the new one. The ongoing five-day special session of the parliament saw MPs remembering their memories of the old building on the first day with PM Narendra Modi mentioning iconic speeches of former PMs Jawahar Lal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He also remembered the terror attack on the premises, among many other incidents.

Women MPs of various political parties on Monday also shared tributes as they bid farewell to the old Parliament building. 

 

India Gets New Parliament: Top Points

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will lead the function at the Central Hall as parliamentarians prepare to move to the new building.

  • The MPs will enter the new Parliament building on Tuesday with a special kit, reported HT. The hamper reportedly includes a copy of the Constitution of India, a commemorative coin featuring the new Parliament, and a postage stamp, the report added.

  • Special invites have been sent out to former prime minister and senior-most Rajya Sabha member Manmohan Singh and former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren, to speak to commemorate the country’s rich parliamentary legacy.

  • The new Parliament building was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 with a religious ceremony including a havan and a prayer incorporating various beliefs. After the havan and prayers, PM Modi formally inaugurated the new Parliament building. 

  • The Lok Sabha secretariat reported that the facility was built in record time, boasts of advanced amenities, and provides a larger area compared to the old one built in 1927. According to the Lok Sabha secretariat, the old building was insufficient in terms of space and lacked convenient facilities for the Members of Parliament (MPs).

  • The capacity of the newly constructed Lok Sabha can now host up to 888 members. The current one only has room for 543 members. The new structure of the Rajya Sabha incorporates a seating capacity of 300 members. The old building could seat 250 MPs. 

  • The ceremony also saw the installation of the historic ‘Sengol’ beside the Lok Sabha speaker’s chair in the new building.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the nation on the occasion. He expressed hope that the new building will witness the dawn of a self-reliant India. He said that the new Parliament would also lead to the development of the world through the development of India.

  • Controversy has also erupted during the inauguration as the opposition parties skipped the event saying that they would have attended it if President Droupadi Murmu had inaugurated the newly built premises.

  • Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) had made a controversial post on X, formerly Twitter, where the party compared the structure of the new Parliament building with a coffin. The party said “What’s this?” in the caption.