Naya Sansad: For new India, a House of new resolve & aspirations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday and said India is leaving behind the "mentality of slavery." He also called for making India a developed nation by the 100th anniversary of its Independence.

The PM said 'Amrit Kaal' - a term he used to denote the period between the 75th and 100th anniversaries of Independence - would be as crucial to making India a developed country as the non-cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi was to securing freedom from the British.

"This Parliament building connects planning to reality, policy to realisation, willpower to execution, and sankalp (resolution) to siddhi (accomplishment). It will witness the rise of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the realisation of a Viksit Bharat (developed India)," Modi said in a nearly 40-minute address in the Lok Sabha chamber after the ceremony, which was boycotted by most of the Opposition parties.


He said some moments in the developmental journey of a nation get immortalised and that "today is one such day."

"There comes a time in the history of every country, when the consciousness of that country is awakened. Such a time had come in India 25 years before Independence, during Gandhiji's non-cooperation movement, which filled the entire country with belief," Modi said. "Azadi ka Amrit Kaal is a stage in Independent India which can be compared to that historic period."

Modi said it is time to give new dimensions to India's development while preserving its heritage, adding, "This is Amrit Kaal giving a new direction to the nation."

It is a time for fulfilling "innumerable aspirations," the Prime Minister said, underscoring the need for a new "lifeblood in democracy" through a verse.

Stressing that the workplace of democracy should also be modern, Modi said the new building would strengthen the nation's belief in its success and inspire everyone to work towards Viksit Bharat.

Spirit of Nation First: PM
The Prime Minister pointed out that the project had generated employment for 60,000 workers, to whom a digital gallery was dedicated.

"We will have to move with a spirit of 'nation first'. We will have to keep the path of duty above all," said the PM, addressing a gathering that included former President Ram Nath Kovind, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, chief ministers YS Jagan Reddy and Eknath Shinde, foreign envoys, Parliamentarians and judges of the Supreme Court.

"It is our good fortune that we could restore the dignity of the sacred sengol (sceptre), which will keep on inspiring us during House proceedings," he said.

While some Opposition leaders had questioned the need for a new Parliament, most Opposition parties, including the Congress, boycotted the ceremony, saying that the head of state, President Droupadi Murmu, should inaugurate the building.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Parliament is the voice of the people. The Prime Minister is considering the inauguration of the Parliament House as a coronation."