New Parliament building inaugurated, but ceremony bereft of Opposition
Today morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building. It is part of the Central Vista redevelopment project.
The ceremony began with a traditional puja with Vedic rituals, which lasted an hour, where Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also present.
The prime minister unveiled a plaque to mark the much-awaited inauguration of the building. After entering the new Lok Sabha, he placed the sacred sceptre, the ‘Sengol’ beside the speaker’s chair.
Following this, he gave a speech, addressed to all the dignitaries inside the new Lok Sabha, in which he said that every Indian is full of pride seeing the new Parliament House.
It needs to be noted that the inauguration was bereft was almost all Opposition members as 20 parties boycotted the event in protest against the President not being invited to inaugurate the new building, despite being the foremost person of the institution of Parliament, as clearly stated in Article 79 of the Constitution. Most Opposition parties consider this an insult to the highest office in the country.
Neither was the vice-president invited, despite he also being the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Instead, it was Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who read out messages from President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Unlike the older Parliament House, the new one has no Central Hall where members of all parties and the media can intermingle in a neutral venue.
