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PremiumParliament special session: Parliament proceedings on Tuesday began at the new building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for the first time in the new Lok Sabha. PM Modi backed more women's participation in the country. He also said that the cabinet has given its nod to much much-awaited women's reservation bill. Before this, PM Modi addressed MPs in the old Parliament. PM Modi proposed to name the old Parliament "Samvidhan Sadan". "My suggestion is that as we are going to the new building, the glory of this building should never decline. It should not be called just the old Parliament... It can be named Samvidhan Sadan," Modi said.
Check the latest updates on Parliament's Special Session at Mint's LIVE blog:
The iconic old Parliament of India, designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, will be "retrofitted" to provide more functional spaces for parliamentary events.
"The historic structure will be conserved, as it is an archaeological asset of the country," according to NDTV's report.
Some media reports have also suggested that part of the old building could be converted into a museum.
Video of preparations at the new Parliament building for the Central Hall Programme. A function to 'commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed Nation by 2047' will be held at 11 am today.
A new dress code with floral motif for Parliament staff will kick off from today. According to an internal circular issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the marshals, security staff and officials, chamber attendants and drivers have been issued new uniforms which they have to don from today (19 September).
The 'bandhgala' suit of bureaucrats will be replaced with a magenta or deep pink Nehru jacket. The shirts for them will also have floral design.
The employees will wear khaki-coloured pants.
The new attire for the marshals in both houses of Parliament will now include Manipuri turbans. The Parliament Security Staff will be seen in army camouflage pattern fatigues instead of the blue safari suits.
Women officers have been assigned bright coloured sarees with jackets to be worn during winters.
In the joint sitting of Parliament which is set to be held in the new Parliament building today afternoon, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will speak for five minutes, according to ANI news agency. Besides, Singh, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren will also speak for five minutes each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will lead a function in the Central Hall of Parliament today (19 Sept) to commemorate the country's rich parliamentary legacy.
The nearly one-and-a-half hour function will start and end with the national anthem and would be followed by the top leaders leading all MPs to the new Parliament building.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will meet in the afternoon to conduct the proceedings of the Day 2 of the Special Session of the Parliament in the new Parliament building. The Rajya Sabha will meet at 2:15 pm in the Upper House chamber of the new Parliament building today (19 September) and the Lok Sabha will meet at 1:15 pm in the Lower House chamber of the newly-constructed complex.
In the joint sitting of Parliament which is set to be held in the new Parliament building tomorrow, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will speak for five minutes each, news agency ANI reported on Monday.
Maneka Gandhi, a former union minister, has been parliamentarian for the longest period among the sitting Lok Sabha MPs. Among the sitting MPs in Rajya Sabha, Manmohan Singh has been a member for the longest time. Shibu Soren has served as MP for the longest period in both the Houses of Parliament.
The Union Cabinet meeting being held at Parliament House Annexe has now concluded
The meeting of the Union Cabinet begins in Parliament House Annexe in Delhi.
"What happened today in this old Parliament building was sad. I was the last speaker today from the opposition. My party was given 18 minutes to speak. Then I was told, I would only get a chance to speak for 10 minutes and suddenly in the middle of my speech, unbelievably I was stopped, and the House was adjourned," said Trinamool Congress leader Derek O Brien
Congress leader KC Venugopal on the first day of the special session of Parliament said that the new Parliament building is not important but the discussion inside it is very important.
Today is the last day of Parliamentary proceedings in the old building. From tomorrow, proceedings will take place in the new Parliament building just beside the old one.
Venugopal told ANI “The old building is very beautiful, what is the problem in this one? Buildings are not important but the discussion inside them is very important. Parliament is for strengthening democracy and raising the concerns of the poor people of the country. When you talk about building, it will never give results but the discussion will."
Rajya Sabha took up discussion on Parliamentary journey of 75 years on Monday on the first day of the Special Session of Parliament with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar stating that “weaponising disruption and disturbance as a strategy" would never get sanction of people.
He suggested eschewing “confrontational posturing" and noted that contentious issues were negotiated in a spirit of consensus in the Constituent Assembly.
In Lok Sabha Union Minister Piyush Goyal says "Today is our last day in this Parliament, I hope we can raise the dignity of our Parliamentary discussions & put out a unified message today."
According to Hindustan Times report, Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi and other ministers met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah ahead of the cabinet meeting.
The meeting is expected to be held in the Parliament Annexe building.
The agenda of the meeting has not been revealed yet.
A key Union Cabinet meeting is likely to take place at 6:30pm on Monday amid the ongoing special session of Parliament, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly convened the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
The new Parliament building places significant emphasis on energy efficiency in its lighting design, resulting in a consumption rate of more than 50 percent less power compared to the conventional system. "We are...delivering products, which are very energy efficient. We have integrated sensors with the products, and that's how the complete solution comes out," Raja Mukherjee, the head of the business group for the lighting division at Panasonic Life Solutions, told PTI.
"The discussions are on, I will say that it is better late than never. Our leader Mamata Banerjee only raised this issue first...But I would like to say that all these talks could have been done in the Winter session also. What has happened currently so that a special session is been called whose agenda has not been decided yet. The agendas they have come up with, it doesn't look like that a special session was required...However, this Women's Reservation Bill is good, we all are in support of it...Now the question is this, that this news is based on rumours, will this Bill come or not?..." TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha said.
Parliament Special Session LIVE: "This is an opportunity for me. I am also leaving old responsibilities to enter into the new. And now we are leaving the old Parliament building to enter the new Parliament tomorrow...And it is also a coincidence that I alone took the oath today and it is the last day of this (old) Parliament...I will say that today is also historic and tomorrow will also be a historic day..." BJP leader and MP Dinesh Sharma said.
Parliament Special Session LIVE: "Today and tomorrow are historic for the country...Everybody has equal rights in the Parliament. This is the reflection of the true spirit of our democracy...From tomorrow this new journey will get more energy."
Parliament Special Session LIVE: "The PM never talks on the issues of the country. He doesn't talk about the promises he made before becoming the PM...He only talks about himself and Modi did this, Modi did that. Other than this he just curses and abuses Congress. He talks about misusing the democratic institutions. But he will not talk about the problems of the people of the country... The PM of the country should talk about inflation, unemployment, increasing farmers' income, China grabbing our land...Today they called the special session but were unable to tell an agenda..." Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said.
Parliament Special Session LIVE: "We (our party and alliance) would like that, as a farewell, the old Parliament should be given the honour of passing the women's reservation bill...If possible, increase the percentage of reservations... The old Parliament, which has Central Hall, has memories from Bhagat Singh to Nehru... So if we really want to honour the old Parliament in this session, then the historic work should be done there..." Congress leader Harish Rawat said.
Parliament Special Session LIVE: Members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are requested to assemble in the Central Hall of Parliament at 11 AM on 19.09.2023 for a function to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed Nation by 2047, P.C. Mody, Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha said in a release.
Parliament Special Session LIVE: "...It is the brainchild of Indian National Congress and UPA. We gave 50% reservation to women in local bodies. We are totally for women's reservation. If they (Centre) have any sincerity in their mind, they should pass the Women's Reservation Bill in this session..." Congress MP KC Venugopal said on Women's Reservation Bill
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor got emotional as all the lawmakers will be shifted from the old Parliament to the new Parliament. Tharoor said, "Well this building is full of memories as the PM also said, it is full of history. It will be a sad moment. Let's hope that the new building has better facilities, new technology and more convenience for the members of the Parliament...But still, it is always an emotional moment to leave an institution that is so full of history and memories... We were all a bit confused as to why it was necessary because many many ways, a lot of bills they have been talking about could have been introduced later. But it is now becoming clear the government wanted to make a special moment out of shifting from one building to another. They have tried to do it in a special way. We can understand the objective there".
In a display of nostalgia, 10 women parliamentarians shared their memories, messages, and experiences of the old Parliament building in handwritten notes as they prepared to bid farewell to the structure ahead of a move into the new complex.
The 10 Women lawmakers who have written nostalgic posts on more than 100-year-old building are--Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal; Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi; Union Minister and Apna Dal (S) MP Anupriya Patel; BJP MP Poonam Mahajan; TMC's Mahua Moitra; Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule; Union Minister and BJP MP Smriti Irani; Congress MP Ramya Haridas; Independent MP from Amravati Navneet Rana; Rajya Sabha MP and legendary sprinter PT Usha.
On Day 1 of the special session of the parliament, MPs belonging to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises, demanding the Women's reservation Bill.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said his party has opposed the abrogation of Article 370 by the current government in 2019, because soldiers are still sacrificing their lives in Jammu and Kashmir, which proves that their opposition was correct.
"On one hand, we have Jammu and Kashmir, on the other Manipur: a lot more needs to be done," he said.
During the Special Session of the Parliament, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajya Sabha said India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru always favoured having a strong Opposition. Taking a dig at PM MOdi-led Centre, Kharge added, "Now, that there is a strong Opposition, the focus is on weakening it through ED, CBI...Take them (into their own party), put them in a washing machine and when they come out all clean - make them permanent (in one's own party). You can see what is happening today".
Mallikarjun Kharge said in Rajya Sabha told Centre, “Change the way you do your politics, nothing new will happen if we shift to a new parliament". He added, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave statement 21 times, Manmohan Singh gave 30 times during their tenure, Kharge said. However apart from few ‘custormary comments’, PM Modi gave his statement only twice".
“Architect of modern India - Nehru - had said that parliamentary democracy demands many virtues which are ability, certain devotion to work, and also a large measure of corporation of self discipline and restrain," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
On the last day at the premises of the old parliament building, PM Modi gave a long speech in Lok Sabha on Monday. PM Modi remembered some of the key moments of the Parliament in the past 75 years. Here are 10 quotes from PM Modi's speech:
PM Modi concluded his last speech at the Old Parliament building on a positive note. He praised Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Indira Gandhi for making tough decisions during their tenure as Prime Minister at this building.
“When I entered the (Parliament) building for the first time as a Parliament member, I bowed my head at the doorstep to pay respect to this temple of democracy," PM Modi said.
“It is this Parliament where Pandit Nehru spoke at 'stroke of midnight hour' which continues to inspire everyone," PM Modi said.
This House also witnessed 'cash for votes' scam during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, says PM Modi.
“Inside this parliament building, decisions like revocation of Article 370, launch of GST, and several other decisions were taken," PM Modi said.
“By just one vote, Atal Vajpayee's government fell in this building," PM Modi said.
“This Parliament will remember Indira Gandhi's decision on Pakistan's partition and formation of Bangladesh," PM Modi said on Monday.
“Nehru's ‘At the stroke of Midnight Hour’ poem will always echo inside the premises of the old Parliament building," PM Modi said.
PM Modi lauds contribution of chamber attendants and House officials in ensuring smooth functioning of Parliament
"It is this august house that has seen active contribution from members aged 25 as well as those aged 93," PM Modi said.
“Biggest achievement of 75 years of this House is the ever-growing trust of the people in Parliament," PM Modi said.
“There have been sweet and sour experiences, there has also been an atmosphere of bickering, and sometimes an atmosphere of conflict and sometimes, there has been an atmosphere of joy as well. All these memories are our shared memories, our shared heritage and hence, its pride is also our shared," PM Modi.
Among the list of leaders, PM Modi on Monday also acknowledged Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh for their work towards the Parliament and India's democracy.
“Emotional moment to bid goodbye to this building; many bitter-sweet memories have been associated with it," PM Modi said.
“When I first entered this building as member, I never imagined that I will get so much love from people," PM Modi.
“We (MPs) of the Parliament are like family members. MPs have always fulfilled their responsibilities despited heath issues. Some came in wheelchairs, some have attended the proceeding after surgery...Even during the pandemic, MPs continued working for the country," PM Modi.
