New Delhi- Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday inaugurated a new parliament building at a grand ceremony amid controversies over the “Sengol” and boycotts by the Opposition parties.
Modi opened the new parliament house, which he called “a cradle of empowerment”, by offering prayers as Hindu priests chanted religious hymns at the start of the ceremony.
The new parliament building is part of his government’s grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital.
Dressed in a traditional attire, Modi walked into the Parliament premises from its Gate No. 1 and was welcomed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Amid Vedic chants by priests from Karnataka’s Shringeri Math, the prime minister performed “Ganapati Homam” to invoke Gods to bless the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
Hours after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at prime minister, saying he is considering the inauguration of the new building as a coronation ceremony.
The prime minister prostrated before the “Sengol” and sought blessings from high priests of various adheenams in Tamil Nadu with the holy sceptre in hand.
Modi then carried the “Sengol” in a procession amid tunes of “nadaswaram” and chanting of Vedic mantras to the new Parliament building and installed it in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker’s chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.
Referring to the establishment of sacred Sengol, the Prime Minister said in his address that in the great Chola Empire, Sengol was seen as the symbol of the path of service, duty and nation. “It is our good fortune that we could restore the dignity of this sacred Sengol. This Sengol will keep on inspiring us during the proceedings of the House”, he added.
Talking about the new building, the PM said, “This building has virasat (heritage) as well as vastu (architecture), kala (art) as well as kaushal (skill), sanskriti (culture), as well as notes of samvidhan (Constitution).”
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar and Jitendra Singh, chief ministers of several states and BJP president J P Nadda was present on the occasion.
Twenty one Opposition parties skipped the event protesting the inauguration by the Prime Minister Modi while they had insisted on President Dropuadi Murmu.
The Modi government has rejected the opposition argument, saying no protocol has been violated and that the prime minister respects the constitutional head of the country.
During the ceremony, a parliament official read out a note written by President Droupadi Murmu in which she welcomed that Modi had inaugurated the complex.
Twenty five parties, including 18 ruling NDA constituents attended the event.
The new parliament complex is the centrepiece of a $2.4 billion project aimed at eclipsing the significance of colonial-era buildings in the capital’s centre, paving the way for modern buildings with a distinct Indian identity.
The triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the old, circular heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence.
The old parliament will be converted into a museum.
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