Curtains for old Parliament building: What all happened on last day?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the special session of the Parliament with an emotive speech for the last time for the old building.
The magnificent old Parliament building hosted a session one last time on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi bidding a farewell recalling India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic “tryst with destiny” speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's "governments may come and go" remark.
While the historic old Parliament building, standing tall in the heart of the national capital, hosted the first day of the five-day special session, from Tuesday, all proceedings will be held in the new Parliament building.
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Earlier in the day, both the Houses were adjourned after a discussion on Parliamentary democracy in the last 75 years with the presiding officers stating that the proceedings will commence on Tuesday afternoon. While the Lok Sabha will meet at 1:15pm at the new Parliament building, the Rajya Sabha proceedings will resume at 2:15pm.
What happened on the last day at the old Parliament building?
PM Modi's address
Prime Minister Modi opened the special session of the Parliament with an emotive speech for the last time for the old Parliament building. During his address, Modi paid tributes to India's democratic traditions, recalled contributions of former prime ministers including Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh, and spoke about the existing Parliament building's history.
“We have undertaken a journey of 75 years, and as we bid goodbye to this Parliament house, we must remember that though this house was built by the colonial government, it was built by our sweat and toil, by our countrymen and with our money,” he said.
He added, “We might be shifting to the new building but this building will keep on inspiring the coming generation. As it is a golden chapter of the journey of Indian democracy."
The PM also remembered journalists who have dedicated their lives to reporting the proceedings of Parliament, even without the use of the latest technology. “Bidding farewell to the old Parliament building will be an even tougher task for journalists as they have been connected with the establishment more than its members,” he said.
Demand for women's reservation bill
The women's reservation bill, also known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008, took center stage in Lok Sabha on the first day of the special Parliament session. Several parties are pushing for the discussion of the long-standing bill - which was already passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
The bill, if passed, would reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
Ruckus over mics being muted
As the members met to start the proceedings in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition began raising their voices as their mics were turned off. This turned into a brief ruckus in the lower house. However, speaker Om Birla apologised saying it was a “technical snag”.
BJP leader takes oath as MP
Amid the special Parliament session proceedings, BJP leader Dinesh Sharma takes oath as a Member of the Parliament (MP) in Rajya Sabha.
War of words between Mallikarjun Kharge and Piyush Goyal
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a war of words between the leader of the House Piyush Goyal and the leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge after the Congress leader called G20 as ‘G2’ and then said that he confused the zero in G20 with lotus (BJP's symbol).
To this, Goyal urged Kharge to not make fun of G20 and said, “But the leader of the opposition, who is also Congress president, only sees 2G, one ji and son ji."
Kharge immediately hit back saying, “A visibly irked Kharge shot back, “When it comes to the nation, we are all united...but don't think that you are the only patriots.”
What will happen to old Parliament building?
According to media reports, the old Parliament building which was built in 1927, will not be demolished. It will be "retrofitted" for more functional spaces for parliamentary events.
Reports also suggest that a part of the old building may be converted into a museum.
PM Modi chairs Cabinet meeting
Meanwhile, after the Houses were adjourned, a Union Cabinet held a meeting chaired by Modi amid speculation that it may clear some important legislative proposals. There was no official word on the agenda items.