On the eve of new Parliament’s inauguration, Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday remarked he considers himself ‘fortunate’ to have been a public representative in both buildings – existing and upcoming - and under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi.
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“The whole country is happy to see these incredible glimpses of the new Parliament house. It is a unique example of the coming together of our country’s culture and modernity. I am fortunate that I got to serve as a public representative in the old Parliament, and will now serve in the same capacity in the new one, and both times under the leadership of PM Modi,” Shah tweeted in Hindi.
The senior BJP leader tweeted this in response to a post from the prime minister, in which the latter shared a glimpse of the exterior and interior of the new building, two days before its opening. While PM Modi is a 2-term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Shah represents their home state, Gujarat, in the Lower House, and is an MP from Gandhinagar.
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{{/usCountry}}The senior BJP leader tweeted this in response to a post from the prime minister, in which the latter shared a glimpse of the exterior and interior of the new building, two days before its opening. While PM Modi is a 2-term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Shah represents their home state, Gujarat, in the Lower House, and is an MP from Gandhinagar.
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{{/usCountry}}The new building is a part of the larger Central Vista Redevelopment Project, and its foundation stone was laid by the prime minister in December 2020. At 1,272 seats (888 Lok Sabha, 384 Rajya Sabha), its seating capacity is higher than that of the existing facility.
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Ahead of the inauguration, however, a controversy has broken out over President Droupadi Murmu not being invited to open the new facility. As many as 21 opposition parties, including the main opposition, the Congress, have accused the Narendra Modi government of ‘disrespecting’ the President by not inviting her to inaugurate the building, despite her status as the head of state. While the ruling BJP has denied the charge of ‘disrespecting’ President Murmu, the 21 parties have announced they will skip the ceremony to protest the government’s non-invitation to the nation's First Citizen.
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On the other hand, 25 parties, including those not with the BJP, have confirmed their participation in the event.