DRENCHED in the coloursof the national flag; adorned with portraits of ancient and modern Indian leaders; bearing the map of an ‘Akhand Bharat’ and showcasing the culture, architecture, music and dance of India, the country’s new temple of democracy was dedicated to the nation on May 28 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The new state-of-the-art Parliament House is truly Indian, in every sense of the word. Unlike the old building which was built by the British 96 years ago as the seat of the Imperial Legislative Council, the new Sansad Bhawan was conceptualised by the BJP Government as part of the mega Central Vista project.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament House in 2020 and got it built in a record time of just 30 months.
The old building had certainly outlived its utility, what with it not being able to accommodate even the existing number of MPs. When this number would have gone up after the impending delimitation and rescheduling of seats of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in 2026, it would have been impossible to conduct the business of Parliament in that building.
With vision and far-sightedness, which has been the hallmark of the Modi Government, the new Parliament House has been built to seat 1,272 MPs. It is fully equipped with digital facilities which have been built for the next 150 years.
The structure is capable of withstanding earthquakes of up to 9 points on Richter scale.The inauguration of the new building was done by PM Modi in a completely traditional and secular style with Vedic rituals, chanting of mantrasand prayers of all religions. In a ceremony which was strongly reminiscent of the recent coronation of King Charles in England, PM Modi received a sceptre or ‘Sengol, a traditional symbol of power, from 21 Adheenam priests who came from Tamil Nadu amidst chanting of mantras and havan.
The sceptre is not only a symbol of power but has also been a symbol of a king’s promise to always be judicious and devoted to the state and its people.
‘Shantiparva’ of the 5,000-year-old ‘Mahabharata’ states that “the sceptre is the dharma of the king, and the dand protects dharma and artha.” This tradition was particularly prevalent in ancient India as a symbol of the transfer of power in the Gupta and Chola kingdoms of the South. It is worth mentioning here that, at the request of Lord Mountbatten, the first Governor General of independent India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and other scholars had found this tradition to be the most suitable for the moment of Independence.
Exuding nationality from every angle, the new Parliament House has a Lok Sabha which has been styled after national bird peacock. The theme of the Rajya Sabha is national flower lotus. National tree banyan is on the premises.
A 16-foot-tall bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi is also there. Also on display are 5,000 artefacts and the Lions of Sarnath Ashoka Pillar are installed on top. The Constitution Hall has been built in the centre of the new building. Apart from the original copy of the Constitution, there are photographs of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, and Subhash Chandra Bose.
