PM Modi: New Parliament Building Testament To 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'

It is a very historic day, a milestone in India's democratic history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the foundation-laying ceremony of new Parliament building on Thursday.

"The people of the country will build the new parliament together. New Parliament building will exemplify the coexistence of the new and the old," he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the Parliament building is a legacy of our founding fathers but it is equally important to accept the ground reality. The building is 100 years old and has been gone under several rounds of sprucing to keep it up and running.

"The building is now looking to retire. It is incumbent upon all of us to give 21st century India a new Parliament Building. And this is a step towards achieving that.

"The new building will be fitted with advanced technology. Even common people, who want to share their grievances with their representatives, face trouble in the existing building due to paucity of space. The new building will have space for every MP to meet and address the issues of their constituents visiting them. The new building will fulfill the desire and aspirations of 21st century India," he said.

The Parliament building signals the emerging spirit of Atmanirbhar India and will be a spectre of pride for coming generations, the Prime Minister added.

"Today, just as the National War Memorial has created a new identity beyond India Gate, the new Parliament House will establish its own identity. The coming generations will be proud to see the new Parliament House that is built in independent India. It is built after commemorating 75 years of independence."

The Parliament building will be a beacon of national interest, which should be supreme in our decision making, the leader added.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building here at an event that was attended by leaders from various political parties, cabinet ministers and ambassadors of different countries. 

Modi also performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the building, which is expected to be completed by 2022.

In the new building, the Lok Sabha chamber will have a seating capacity for 888 members, while the Rajya Sabha will have 384 seats for members. The Lok Sabha chamber will have an option to increase its sitting capacity to 1,224 members during joint sessions.

This has been done keeping in mind the future increase in the number of members for the two houses.

At present, Lok Sabha has a sanctioned strength of 543 members and Rajya Sabha 245.

In September this year, Tata Projects Limited won the bid to construct the new Parliament building. The new building will be constructed close to the existing one under the Central Vista redevelopment project.

(With inputs from PTI)