Prime Minister Narendra Modi led several MPs as all of them walked from the old to the new Parliament building on Tuesday to attend the sitting in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers in the new complex.
PM Modi was joined by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda as they walked from the old Parliament building to the new one. They were followed by the NDA MPs who raised slogans such as 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Matram'.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla walked to the new Parliament separately.
Several opposition MPs were also seen later walking towards the new Parliament complex.
Function in Central Hall of old Parliament building
Earlier, the MPs attended a function in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building, marking the move to the new Parliament complex. Addressing a function in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building, Modi said a big picture cannot be painted on a small canvas and the idea of a grand India cannot be envisioned if the members do not think big. "Is it possible to draw a big picture on a small canvas? No! In the same way, we cannot mark out the picture of 'Bhavya Bharat' if we have a small canvas of thinking," the prime minister said.
"We have a rich heritage! If this rich heritage is joined in by our dreams, our resolutions, and if our canvas of thinking expands, we will certainly be able to paint picture of 'Bhavya Bharat', we will certainly be able to fill colours in this picture, and offer this beautiful, colourful and grand picture of 'Maa Bharti' to our future generations," he said. Modi urged the members to reaffirm the commitment to make India a developed nation by 2047 and described the move to the new Parliament building as a new beginning towards a new future.
Renaming of the old Parliament building
The old Parliament building should be named "Samvidhan Sadan", Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested on Tuesday.
"We are shifting to the new Parliament building. It is an auspicious day, it is Ganesh Chaturthi," he said, addressing a function held in the Central Hall to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India
"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.
