Led by PM Modi, Parliamentarians Walk to New Parliament Building

NEW DELHI:
Members of Parliament on Tuesday proceeded to the new Parliament building after bidding farewell to the old building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the Central Hall of the Old Parliament building after which he proceeded outside.

He also proposed that the new building be called ‘Samvidhan Sadan’. Led by PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Nitin Gadkari were among other parliamentarians who walked from the old building to the new complex. The MPs raised slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as they walked.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was seen holding a copy of the Constitution of India in his hand as Congress MPs entered the new building of the Parliament. Proceedings resumed in Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building, with an address by Prime Minister. “…I extend my heartiest welcome to all of you in this new Parliament building.

This occasion is unprecedented in several ways. This is the dawn of Azadi ka Amrit Kaal…,” PM Modi said. Ahead of the proceedings of Lok Sabha in the New Parliament building, Speaker Om Birla said, “Today is a very important day in the history of democracy as we are starting the proceedings of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. We are fortunate enough to witness this historic day, I congratulate all of you.” Rajya Sabha proceedings will begin at 2:15 pm.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet in the new parliament building today at 1:15 pm and 2:15 pm respectively. Ahead of the proceedings in the new Parliament building today, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that the moving to the new Parliament was done with new aspirations and that “people have high expectations from us.”

“Today, we are moving to the new Sansad Bhawan (Parliament House) with new aspirations. Today, people have high expectations from us and it increases our responsibility to live up to those expectations and aspirations. We are fortunate that we are the representatives of times when India is moving forward in every sector. India is playing a significant role in global challenges.”

The five-day special session of Parliament was called by the government last month taking the opposition by surprise. The decision was announced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. The Special Session of Parliament will end on Friday.