PremiumNew Parliament building: The inauguration ceremony of India's new Parliament building has kicked off today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have arrived at the new Parliament building and they were seen attending the puja and havan. PM Modi has installed the historic ‘Sengol’ near the Lok Sabha's speaker's chair.
The morning phase will end at close to 9:30 am after which the second leg of the ceremony is expected to begin at noon with the singing of the national anthem in the Lok Sabha chamber in the presence of all the dignitaries including PM Modi.
Catch all the LIVE updates on New Parliament Inauguration here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed VD Savarkar in the 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast. PM Modi said, "Savarkar's personality was one of strength, and magnanimity; his fearless and self-respecting nature couldn't tolerate slavery".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, several cabinet ministers, and MPs paid floral tributes to VD Savarkar in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building on his birth anniversary.
Prime Minister Modi paid floral tributes to Savarkar's portrait in the Central Hall after inaugurating the new Parliament building.
Wrestler Sakshi Malik has taken a dig at the Central government after police detained protestors, who on Sunday planned to take a march towards the new Parliament, demanding the arrest of WFI chief Brij Bhushan. Security personnel have been deployed across Delhi borders and around the New Delhi district to avoid any demonstrations during the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament.
Against this backdrop, wrestler Malik highlighted the irony of the Indian democracy. She tweeted, “To all my international fraternity…Our Prime Minister is inaugurating our new parliament…But on the other hand, Our supporters have been arrested for supporting us".
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday slammed the RJD party for calling the new Parliament a coffin. Owaisi said, "RJD has no stand, the old Parliament building did not even have clearance from Delhi Fire Service. Why are they (RJD) calling the Parliament a coffin? They could have said anything else, why do they need to bring this angle?"
Further Owaisi maintained on his previous statement that Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla should have inaugurated the new parliament minister Modi.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday wrote a note on 'Senogol controversy'. Tharoor wrote, "Sengol sceptre is a traditional symbol of power and authority, and by placing it in the Lok Sabha, India is affirming that sovereignty resides there & not with any monarch.
Let us embrace this symbol from the past to affirm the values of our present".
After the phase-1 inauguration of the new Parliament building, PM Modi on Sunday tweeted, “As the new building of India’s Parliament is inaugurated, our hearts and minds are filled with pride, hope and promise. May this iconic building be a cradle of empowerment, igniting dreams and nurturing them into reality. May it propel our great nation to new heights of progress".
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party has posted a controversial tweet on the new Parliament. The RJD party has compared the new India Parliament with a coffin.
"The coffin in our tweet is a representation of democracy being buried. The country will not accept this. Parliament is the temple of democracy and it is the place to have discussions," RJD leader Shakti Singh Yadav said.
Following this, former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi slammed the RJD party and said, "A case of treason should be registered against such people who have compared the new Parliament building with a coffin".
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, hailed Prime Minister Modi for dedicating the new Parliament to the nation. Shaw wrote, "PM Unveils New Parliament / It was historic pride for every Indian. Truly the befitting abode of the world’s largest democracy".
National Congress Party (NCP) leader and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule took a fresh jibe at PM Modi-led central government regarding the inauguration of the new Parliament.
Sule said, "To open a new Parliament building without the Opposition makes it an incomplete event. It means there is no democracy in the country".
"Mahapanchayat will certainly be held today. We're fighting for our self-respect," Wrestler Bajranj Punia affirmed. The protesting wrestlers are planning to stage a protest in front of the new Parliament building today. However, cops have tightened security in and around the new Delhi district as well as on all borders of the national capital. "They're inaugurating the new Parliament building today, but murdering democracy in the country. We appeal to the administration to release our people detained by police," Punia said.
Thousands of Khap panchayat members have come out in support of agitated wrestlers who are demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brish Bhushan who, they alleged, sexually harassed several women grapplers.
Following this Delhi Police have put up barricades near ITO road, the Tikri border, and the Singhu border area.
"We have deployed male and female companies at Delhi-Haryana border points to ensure unsocial elements are stopped from entering Delhi. Sonipat East Zone Police has not detained anyone so far. We will not allow people to enter Delhi if their motive is to disrupt the inauguration of the new Parliament House, our intelligence team is identifying such people," Gaurav Rajpurohit, DCP, Sonipat East said.
The historic sceptre 'Sengol' was received by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on August 14, 1947, to represent the symbol of the transfer of power from the Britishers to India. Sengol is silver & gold plated. The word Sengol is derived from the Tamil word 'Semmai', meaning 'Righteousness'. This 5-feet long sceptre was installed by PM Modi near the Lok Sabha's speaker chair on Sunday.
The Congress Party launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he inaugurated the new Parliament building. The opposition party called the Prime Minister, "self-glorifying authoritarian PM with utter disdain for parliamentary procedures".
Architect: The new Parliament is designed by Bimal Patel
Founding date: PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building on 10 December 2020.
Cost: The building, which was built at a cost of ₹971 crore.
Employment generated: 23,04,095 (in man-days)
Features: The new Parliament building will enable 888 members to sit in the Lok Sabha. In the present building of the Parliament, there is a provision for the sitting of 543 Members in the Lok Sabha and 250 in the Rajya Sabha.
Material used in the new Parliament building:
The fly ash bricks used in the construction were sourced from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The new parliament building used manufactured sand or M-sand from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana for creating concrete mix for the construction activities.
The teakwood used in the building was sourced from Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Red and white sandstone was procured from Sarmathura in Rajasthan.
White marble has been sourced from Ambaji in Rajasthan.
The steel structure for the false ceilings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers have been sourced from the union territory of Daman and Diu.
Furniture is crafted in Mumbai.
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.
As PM Modi inaugurates new parliament building today, the Delhi Metro has decided to shut all entry exit gates of Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan stations. However, interchange facilities are available at Central Secretariat.
Delhi Police have increased the security in the national capital as Khap panchayat members are set to join the wrestlers' protest towards the newly-built Parliament building today.
A Khap Panchayat has called for a 'Mahila mahapanchayat' in support of wrestlers who have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP accusing him of sexual harassment.
Vummidi Ethirajulu the maker of Sengol attended the inauguration of the new parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has installed the sacred 'Sengol' in the Lok Sabha chamber, right next to the Speaker's chair in the new Parliament building today. The Sengol was built and designed with the collective effort of 'Adheenams' (priests from Shaivite mutts in Tamil Nadu) and Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers. It is a golden sceptre adorned with a 'nandi' (bull) on top. Vummidi Ethirajulu, 97, designed the Sengol.
PM Modi decided to adopt Sengol as a national symbol of the Amrit Kaal.
This is the same Sengol that was accepted by the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence on the night of August 14, in the presence of several leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building starting with havan and pooja. PM Modi installed Sengol at Lok Sabha chamber and attended muti-faith prayers.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday shared photo collage of the new Parliament building and wrote, “India, the mother of all democracies, exemplifies its time-honored values and illustrious heritage through the magnificent inauguration of the new Parliament building".
PM Modi unveils the plaque to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
During the historic inauguration of the new Parliament building, prayers from all religions (Jain, Judaism, Hindu, Islam, Sikh) were recited. PM Modi, Amit Shah, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Yogi Adityanath, Smriti Irani, and other leaders were also present during the multi-faith prayers.
PM Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker attend the multi-faith prayers at the new Parliament building.
PM Narendra Modi felicitated the workers who helped in the building and development of the new Parliament.
After installing Sengol, PM Modi received blessing of seers present at the new Parliament building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is installing the historic ‘Sengol’ near Lok Sabha Speaker's chair at the new Parliament building with over a dozen priests chanting prayers during the installation of sengol.
PM Modi carries the historic 'Sengol' into the Lok Sabha chamber of the new Parliament building.
PM Modi bows as a mark of respect before the 'Sengol' during the ceremony to mark the beginning of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. Yesterday, PM Modi said "Sengol" was a symbol of the transfer of power from the British in 1947. The "Sengol" holds significance not only because it was a sacred symbol of power transfer in 1947, but also because it connected the glorious traditions of pre-colonial India to the future of independent India, PM said.
PM Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla begin puja for the inauguration of the new Parliament building
The puja ceremony will continue for about an hour. After the puja, the PM will receive the 'Sengol' and install it in the new Parliament.
PM Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have reached the new Parliament premises. They both paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi's statute.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at the new Parliament building for the inauguration ceremony. The ceremony will begin with puja and havan shortly.
PM Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the new Parliament building today. PM Modi is expected to arrive here shortly. The ceremony will begin with a puja which will continue for about an hour. After the puja, the PM will receive the 'Sengol' and install it in the new Parliament.
Several Khap protesters, who are mobilized in different parts of north India, protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were stopped by cops at the Tikri border (Delhi-Haryana border), some were stopped in Ambala too.
These protestors have a plan of showcasing their demonstration in front of the new Parliament building as they claim the government has ignored their demand. Bhushan is facing charges of sexual harassment by some of the top women wrestlers. They are demanding his resignation, and have been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for more than a month now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building today. PM Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla will lead the inauguration ceremony of the new Sansad (Parliament) in Delhi. The inauguration ceremony will begin at around 12 noon.
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