Indian lawmakers bid farewell to a British-era parliament building and moved to a new facility next door on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said was a “historic day”. In May, Modi inaugurated the new building, part of an ambitious redevelopment of the so-called Central Vista complex in New Delhi, amid protests from opposition parties who had wanted India’s president to inaugurate it instead.
“Today India has awakened with a new consciousness,” Modi said in the central hall of the old parliament building before leading fellow legislators by foot across to the new complex.
Built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker two decades before India’s 1947 independence, the old building witnessed the tortuous birth of the republic and thereafter served as a custodian of the world’s most populous democracy. Now it is to become a museum, its 788 members moving to a new, triangular-shaped complex built at an estimated cost of $120 mn.
It is part of a $2.8bn revamp of British-era offices and residences in central New Delhi that will also include blocks of buildings for government ministries and departments and the prime minister’s new residence. The entire project is spread over 3.2 km.
“Today is an occasion to recollect and reminisce the parliamentary journey of 75 years of India before the proceedings are shifted to the newly inaugurated building,” Modi told a special session of parliament on Monday.
His speech marked the start of a five-day special session called by the government, but there was no immediate confirmation on bills up for discussion. The lawmakers usually meet thrice a year: for a budget session, a monsoon session and a winter session.
India’s lower house held a brief first session in its new home to introduce a bill setting a 33 per cent quota on female representation among legislators. If passed, the proposed law would dramatically lift the number of women in parliament.
Speaking on the eve of what could be the last sitting of Parliament in the colonial-era building, the PM said, "The 75-year-long journey generated traditions and procedures of highest quality. Members of this House actively contributed to and were witness to the evolution. This chapter of the glorious journey will serve as a reminder of India's potential as a democracy."