New Delhi, May 24 (FN Bureau) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the new Parliament building is a testimony to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foresight. The Home Minister said the new Parliament building will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 as part of the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM). “New Parliament shows PM Modi’s long term vision,” said Shah while addressing the media to mark the nine years of the Modi government. The Union Home Minister also announced the reintroduction of ‘Sengol’ (sceptre), a ‘significant historical’ symbol of Independence as it signifies the transfer of power from the British to Indians. “PM Modi will receive the ‘Sengol’ from Tamil Nadu before the inauguration of the New Parliament building and he will place it inside the new Parliament Bhavan,’ Shah added. “It is inappropriate to keep this sacred ‘Sengol’ in a museum. There cannot be a more appropriate, sacred and appropriate place than the Parliament House for the establishment of ‘Sengol’,” he stated.
Shah also informed that Prime Minister Modi will also be honouring all the 60,000 workers, who were involved in the construction of Parliament building.Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur were also present at the conference. Meanwhile, 19 Opposition parties, including the Congress, the TMC, the AAP, and others on Wednesday decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. “When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the Parliament, we find no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building,” parties said in a joint statement on Wednesday. They alleged that “Prime Minister Modi’s decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building by himself, completely sidelining President Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy”. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building in December 2020.The four-storey building, built at an estimated cost of Rs 970 crore, can house 1,224 MPs.