PM Modi Inaugurates New Parliament Building On 28th May

The PM of India, Narendra Modi inaugurated the new parliament of India. Find out all the features, details, controversies related to the same.

You must surely know the inauguration of the new parliament happened on 28th May 2023. ISH News released a video about it and the Sengol that is placed in the Lok Sabha chamber. 

If you have not seen the video, here is the link. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPtkTxK8g04 )

After knowing all the details about the Sengol, let us look at the features of the building and the ceremonies that took place on the day of the inauguration. 

1. PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the building on 10th December 2020. 

2. has been built right next to the existing Parliament House.

3. It has a total of 1272 seats of which 888 are reserved for Lok Sabha and 384 seats for Rajya Sabha. The old Parliament building accommodated 550 members in the Lok Sabha and 250 members in the Rajya Sabha. (PIC) 

4. The Lok Sabha design is based on the theme of a peacock. The Rajya Sabha is based on the theme of a lotus. (PIC & Video)

5. The building is said to have a lifespan of around 150 years.

6. The new building is triangular in shape and has three main gates — Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar and will have separate entrances for VIPs, MPs and visitors. 

7. The building, designed by Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management. Bimal Patel is the Chief Architect of the building.

8. Tata Projects Limited is the contractor for the construction of the new parliament building.

9. The building has an area of 64,500 square meters.

10. The new building is earthquake-resistant and will do no harm till Zone 5 earthquakes. Currently, Delhi is in Zone 4. 

The inauguration ceremony took place on 28th May 2023. The ceremony began with a traditional puja at a pandal (mandap) near the Gandhi statue with Vedic rituals. PM Modi performed Ganpati puja to invoke Gods to bless the inauguration of the new Parliament building. It was a sarva dharma prarthana (multi-faith prayer) where various religious leaders chanted prayers in various languages. Apart from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Rs. 75 coin and a special commemorative postage stamp to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

The PM also felicitated the construction workers with traditional shawls and handed over mementoes. The prime minister said that the construction of the sprawling complex provided employment to 60,000 workers, and added that a digital gallery dedicated to them has also been built in the complex. The inauguration date of the new parliament building has led to controversies and 19 parties including Congress, AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT) had boycotted the inauguration. According to them, the President of India Draupadi Murmu should be inaugurating the new parliament building as she is the constitutional head of the country. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) argued that the President isn't a member of either of the House.

On 26th May, even the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a petition challenging the same. The Opposition accused the government of sidelining the President, this heaping “insult” on the first citizen and the head of the country. The court asked the relation between the President being the head and the inauguration. In the end, the court refused to hear the petition and did not intervene. President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the inauguration of the new Parliament. Her written message was read out by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson during the inaugural event. 

In a tweet, which is likely to trigger a major controversy, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) equated the new Parliament building to a coffin that symbolises death. The Bharatiya Janata Paty was quick to hit back. Describing the tweet as “disgusting”, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “This will prove to be the final nail in the coffin of RJD’s politics. Trikon or Tribhuj (triangle) has much significance in Indian system By the way the coffin is hexagonal or has 6 sided polygon.” 

Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Hema Malini, Sonu Sood and many more tweeted photos of the new parliament building and congratulated PM Modi.

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