The day-long inaugural ceremonies for the new Lok Sabha building began with a havan on Sunday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi then installed a gold sceptre in the new Lok Sabha chamber amid Vedic chanting by priests from Tamil Nadu and a multi-faith prayer.
During the ceremony, the Prime Minister felicitated 11 workers who had contributed to the construction of the new building. This included Ram Murmu, a cleaner from Jharkhand; Anil Kumar Yadav from Bihar, who worked on the sandstone walls on the facade; Muzaffar Khan, a mechanic from Jharkhand who repaired machinery on the site; and Anand Vishwakarma from Varanasi, who worked on the ceilings of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers.
Earlier, PM Modi bowed down to the sengol, a gift given to Jawaharlal Nehru by the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu. The sceptre had been in a museum in Prayagraj. Modi then placed the sceptre in a glass case behind the Lok Sabha Speaker’s seat with Birla standing next to him. He also unveiled a plaque declaring the new building “dedicated to the nation.”
Among those present for the multi-faith prayer were Union Ministers , Hardeep Puri, , S. Jaishankar, and , as well as the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh , CM , and Gujarat CM .
Later in the afternoon, an inauguration ceremony will take place inside the new Lok Sabha chamber, where Modi and Birla are expected to give speeches. All sitting MPs were invited, but 20 Opposition parties have decided to boycott the event as the Prime Minister is inaugurating the new Parliament instead of the President.
The new Parliament was constructed from January 2021 at an estimated cost of Rs.1,200 crore. Designed by HCP Design, Planning and Management Ltd, the triangular building sits adjacent to the heritage Parliament building completed in 1927.
