The government Friday released the first look of the new Parliament building, two days before its official inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Soon after, PM Modi took to Twitter sharing the video, and encouraged the citizens to share the video with their “own voice-over” conveying their thoughts on the new Parliament building. He wrote, “The new Parliament building will make every Indian proud. This video offers a glimpse of this iconic building. I have a special request- share this video with your own voice-over, which conveys your thoughts. I will re-Tweet some of them. Don’t forget to use #MyParliamentMyPride.”
The new Parliament building will make every Indian proud. This video offers a glimpse of this iconic building. I have a special request- share this video with your own voice-over, which conveys your thoughts. I will re-Tweet some of them. Don’t forget to use #MyParliamentMyPride. pic.twitter.com/yEt4F38e8E
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2023
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the building on December 10, 2020, and its construction began in January 2021. Designed by Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management under architect Bimal Patel, the structure has been built adjacent to the existing Parliament House by Tata Projects Limited.
Spread across an area of around 64,500 sq m, the new building which sits next to the existing Parliament House, will be able to accommodate 888 parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha and 300 in the Rajya Sabha, up from the existing 543 and 250, respectively. The building has state-of-art technology, including biometrics for ease of voting, digital language interpretation or translation systems, and programmable microphones.
A political row has erupted after a total of 20 Opposition parties announced their “collective decision” to boycott the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, saying PM Modi’s decision to inaugurate it himself, “completely sidelining” President Droupadi Murmu, insults the high office of the President and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
Following the announcement, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of indulging in “petty politics” and “insulting” the mandate of the people. Moreover, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the Opposition parties to “rethink their decision”. “No one should politicise this, the new Parliament is a symbol of democracy and the aspiration of all Indians,” he said. Meanwhile, the Congress said, “one man’s ego and desire for self-promotion” denied the first tribal woman President her Constitutional privilege to inaugurate the complex.
In latest development, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court declined a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to Lok Sabha Secretariat for inauguration of new Parliament building by President Droupadi Murmu, and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi as is scheduled. The petitioner had cited Article 79 of the Constitution, and pointed out that since the President possesses the power to summon and prorogue Parliament or dissolve the Lok Sabha, she should not, therefore, be kept away from the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
