New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that this Parliament session may be short in duration but is big on occasion, and is of “historic decisions”.
The special Parliamentary Session began on Monday, September 18, after a row over an unclear agenda and opposition allegations that the government has a hidden motive.
The session began after a ruckus in the Lok Sabha when the national anthem was played twice, due to a technical glitch. Speaker Om Birla said that he would look into the matter and attempted to calm the MPs down.
Birla, bid goodbye to the current Parliamentary building, with hopes for a better future at the new building.
In his over an hour-long speech in Lok Sabha, Modi remembered the journey of India’s democracy and said the last day in this heritage building should be dedicated to the over 7,500 parliamentarians who served in this building since Independence.
Stressing on the historical importance of the old Parliament Building, PM Modi recalled that while the construction of the old Parliament Building was given by foreign rulers, it was constructed through the sweat, hard work and money of Indians.
It is in this Parliament where Pandit Nehru spoke at the ‘stroke of midnight hour’ and his words continue to inspire everyone, he said.
Modi lauded the vision of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and subsequent leaders, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but also reminded the Lok Sabha of the ‘cash-for-vote’ scam during the Manmohan Singh government.
The PM also lauded the contribution of B R Ambedkar, saying his vision for industrialisation, which was aimed at bringing social justice in the country during the first government of independent India, continues to remain at the heart of every industrial policy even today.
The biggest achievement of these 75 years is that the common person’s trust in Parliament continues to grow, Modi said, as he wished that when Parliament shifts to its new building on Tuesday it should usher in a dawn of new hope and confidence.
At the same time, there have been sad and emotive moments when Parliament witnessed loss of three serving prime ministers — Nehru, Shastri and Indira Gandhi — and they were paid rich tributes, he noted.
“This House also supported the liberation of Bangladesh under the leadership of Indira Gandhi,” he said.
At the same time, this House also witnessed an attack on democracy during the Emergency and through this House, the people also asserted their power as we saw the return of democracy, Modi added.
“Today, we are taking leave from this historic building. Before Independence, this was the Imperial Legislative Council and after Independence, it became the Parliament building,” he said.
“We may go to the new building, but the old building will also inspire generations to come. This is an important chapter of India’s journey,” Modi said.
Initiating the discussion in the Lok Sabha on “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha — Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”, Modi also said there were celebrations everywhere when three new states of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh were created during Vajpayee’s time but lamented that Telangana being carved out of Andhra Pradesh led to only bitterness and bloodshed in both the states.
(With inputs from PTI)
