Prime Minister Modi inaugurates new Parliament building

Prime Minister Modi inaugurates new Parliament building

Strap – Seeks blessings from high priests of various adheenams in Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building with much fanfare on Sunday morning. Dressed in traditional attire, the PM walked into Parliament premises from Gate No.1 and was welcomed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Later, he installed the historic Sengol in the Lok Sabha chamber.

A multi-faith prayer was held to mark the occasion and amid Vedic chants by priests from Karnataka's Shringeri Math, the PM performed Ganapati Homam to invoke Gods to bless the new building.

Modi prostrated before the Sengol and sought blessings from high priests of various adheenams in Tamil Nadu. Holding the holy sceptre in hand, he carried it in a procession amid the playing of nadaswaram and chanting of Vedic mantras. The Sengol was installed in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.

The PM, along with the Speaker, and other dignitaries, then proceeded to the old Parliament House.

Some workers, who played key roles in the construction of the new Parliament building, were felicitated by the PM with shawls and souvenirs.

Several Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Mansukh Mandaviya and Jitendra Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and BJP President J P Nadda, were present on the occasion.

The event to mark the inauguration was held amid a boycott by several Opposition parties, who insisted President Droupadi Murmu, as head of the state, should do the honours.

How It Took Shape

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had passed a resolution urging the government to construct a new Parliament House.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building, a key component of the ambitious Central Vista project, on 10 December 2020. The construction work started in early 2021 and was completed within 29 months.

Constructed by Tata Projects Ltd at an estimated cost of Rs.1200 crore, the new Parliament comprises a grand Constitution Hall to showcase India's democratic heritage, a lounge for Members of Parliament, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas, and ample parking space.

It can comfortably seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber and 300 in the Rajya Sabha chamber. During a joint session of both Houses, 1,280 members can be accommodated in the Lok Sabha.

The triangular-shaped four-storey building has a built-up area of 64,500 square metres. It has three main gates - Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar, with separate entrances for VIPs, MPs, and visitors.

The material used for the building has been acquired from various parts of the country.

While the teakwood was sourced from Nagpur in Maharashtra, the red and white sandstone was procured from Sarmathura in Rajasthan. The Kesharia green stone was brought from Udaipur, the red granite from Lakha, near Ajmer, and the white marble from Ambaji in Rajasthan.

The steel structure for the false ceilings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers has been sourced from the union territory of Daman and Diu, while the furniture was crafted in Mumbai. The stone jaali (lattice) work dotting the building is a product from Rajnagar in Rajasthan and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

The materials for the Ashoka Emblem were sourced from Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Jaipur in Rajasthan, while the Ashok Chakra donning the massive walls of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers and the exteriors of the Parliament building were procured from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

In the construction, manufactured sand or M-sand was used from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana for creating concrete mix. Considered environment-friendly, it is created by crushing large hard stones or granite and not by dredging of river beds. The fly-ash bricks were sourced from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, while brass works and pre-cast trenches came from Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

An official rightly remarked, "In a way, the entire country came together to construct the temple of democracy, reflecting the true spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.’"

The Old Parliament Building

Constructed in 1927, the old Parliament House is now 96 years old. Over the years, it had become inadequate for present-day requirements. It served as independent India's first Parliament and witnessed the adoption of the Constitution of India.

Originally called the Council House, it housed the Imperial Legislative Council. The building witnessed the addition of two floors in 1956 to address the demand for more space. In 2006, the Parliament Museum was added to showcase the 2,500 years of rich democratic heritage of India.

The building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature and the seating arrangements were cramped and cumbersome, with no desks beyond the second row. The Central Hall in the old Parliament has a seating capacity only for 440 persons. The need for more space was acutely felt during joint sessions of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.