PRIME Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday inaugurate the new Parliament building, equipped with state-ofthe-art technology, amid a boycott by several Opposition parties which insist that President Droupadi Murmu as head of the state should do the honours. On Friday, Modi said the new Parliament building will make every Indian proud and shared a video of the new complex. With carpets from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, bamboo flooring from Tripura and stone carvings from Rajasthan, the new Parliament building reflects India’s diverse culture. ‘Sengol’, a historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu which was received by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent transfer of power from the British and was kept in a museum in Allahabad, will be installed in the new Parliament building. It will be placed near the chair of Lok Sabha Speaker in the House chamber. But amid a boycott by 20 Opposition parties of the inauguration ceremony, the Sengol too was dragged into the political row. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday claimed there was no documented evidence of Lord Mountbatten, C Rajagopalachari and Nehru describing the Sengol as a symbol of transfer of power by the British to India.

 

The Congress’ stand on the Sengol evoked a strong reaction from Home Minister Amit Shah who said the party needs to “reflect” on its behaviour as he denounced its claim that there was no evidence of the Sengol being a symbol of transfer of power by the British to India in 1947. To mark the event, the Government will issue a commemorative Rs 75 coin. According to a gazette notification by Department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry, the weight of this coin could be 34.65-35.35 gram. One side of the coin will bear the image of Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in the centre flanked by the word ‘Bharat’ in Devnagri script and‘INDIA’ in English, it said. Rupee symbol ‘?’ and denominational value ‘75’ in international numeral will also be inscribed below the Lion Capital. The other side of the coin shall bear the image of ParliamentComplex,andthe year ‘2023’ in international numeral below the image. ThenewParliamentbuilding, constructed by Tata ProjectsLtd,willhaveagrand constitutionhalltoshowcase India’s democratic heritage, a lounge for MPs, a library, multiple committee rooms, diningareasandampleparking space. The triangularshaped four-storey building has a built-up area of 64,500 square metres. The building has three main gates -- Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar. It will have separate entrances forVIPs,MPs, and visitors. The material used forthenewbuildinghasbeen acquired from various parts of the country. The teakwood used in the building was sourced from Nagpur in Maharashtra, whiletheredandwhitesandstone was procured from Sarmathura in Rajasthan.

 

The sandstone for the Red FortandHumayun’sTombin the national capital was also knowntohave sourcedfrom Sarmathura. The Kesharia green stone has been procured from Udaipur, the red granite from Lakha near Ajmer and the white marble has been sourced from Ambaji in Rajasthan. “In a way, the entire country came together to construct the temple of democracy, thus reflecting the true spiritofEkBharatShreshtha Bharat,” an official said. The steel structure for the falseceilingsintheLokSabha and the Rajya Sabha chambershavebeensourcedfrom theunionterritoryofDaman and Diu, while the furniture inthenewbuildingwascrafted in Mumbai. The stone ‘jaali’ (lattice) works dotting the building were sourced from Rajnagar in Rajasthan and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The materials for the Ashoka Emblem were sourcedfromAurangabadin Maharashtra and Jaipur in Rajasthan, while the Ashok Chakra donningthe 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. ThenewParliamentbuildingcancomfortablyseat888 members in the Lok Sabha chamberand300intheRajya Sabha chamber. In case of a joint sitting of both the Houses,atotalof1,280members can be accommodated in the Lok Sabha chamber.