House bids adieu to grand rotunda

Modi leads tributes as mother of democracy spends last day in old home, sets sights on a historic beginning in new Parliament building

- Zia Haq

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led lawmakers in paying tribute to the abode of India’s democracy on Monday as members cutting across party lines extolled the contribution of the iconic institution that once housed the drafters of the Constitution and served as the custodian of the world’s largest democracy for seven decades.

Opening the special session on the eve of the move to the new building next door, Modi struck a nostalgic tone as he praised Parliament for gaining the trust of the common citizen, recalled milestones in India’s democratic journey, praised the contributions of former presidents and prime ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, and hailed flagship programmes of his government and India’s achievement as G20 chair.

“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,” Modi said during the 80 minute speech.

“We might be shifting to the new building but this building will keep on inspiring the coming generations, as it is a golden chapter of the journey of Indian democracy”, he said.

Over the course of seven hours, 32 lawmakers spoke on a gamut of subjects ranging from the G20 Summit to the history of India’s democracy.

The future proceedings of Parliament will commence from a modern building complex next to the old one. On May 28, Modi threw open the doors of the sprawling new building with state-of-the-art facilities and increased seating for lawmakers pending a potential delimitation exercise at the national level.

In a rare acknowledgement, Modi spoke at length about the country’s first Prime Minister Nehru and his Cabinet, as well as other Congress PMs.