Modi: PM Modi bids farewell to old Parliament building, looks to future with hope | India News

NEW DELHI: PM Modi Monday led the Lok Sabha in bidding adieu to the old building of Parliament, saying that the structure atop Raisina Hill, which symbolises the country’s success as a democracy in defiance of doomsayers, will continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations.
With Parliament set to shift to the new building on Tuesday afternoon, the PM said the current members of the House are fortunate to be the “bridge between the past and future… as we leave (the old building) with new hope and confidence”.
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.”

PM cites own rise as proof of people’s trust in Parliament
Using the twilight hours of the old building of Parliament as the vantage to look at the political journey post-Independence, PM Narendra Modi on Monday dwelt at length on India’s achievement as a democracy, saying that it is because of the success of the democratic experiment that the country is filled with a new zeal and spirit, has begun to dream big and, at the same time, is showing the resolve to realise them.
“The current buzz about India in all quarters, the global focus on it, all this has been possible only because of its success as a democracy,” he said, citing his own “railway platform-to-Parliament” rise as a testimony to the people’s confidence in Parliament. “I could not have imagined this. But it is a measure of the strength of Indian democracy that somebody struggling to make ends meet on railway platform made it to Parliament. The love and blessings that the country has bestowed on me is beyond my imagination,” said Modi.
His 52-minute speech was remarkable for the “above-the-fray” tone that Modi largely remained hewed to, although Congress did not appear amused over the omission of Rajiv Gandhi from cast of former PMs who came in for praise, beginning with JL Nehru and including Indira Gandhi. Modi pulled few punches while mentioning the Emergency and its withdrawal after Indira Gandhi’s defeat, the “cash-for-vote” episode during the no-trust vote against the Manmohan Singh government and the controversial partition of Andhra Pradesh during Congress-led UPA.
Modi also paid compliments to Parliament’s employees – from workers to interpreters and security personnel, and the media for their contribution.
Besides mentioning the contributions of former PMs and leaders, including Nehru’s “tryst with destiny” speech, the Green Revolution under Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi’s announcement of the liberation of Bangladesh, creation of the ministry of rural development under Charan Singh, economic liberalisation under P V Narasimha Rao and the formulation of industrial policy by Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, Modi also recalled the defeat of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government by a solitary vote and the 2001 attack on Parliament. Speakers, from the first G V Mavlankar to incumbent Om Birla, also came in for generous mention.
PM Modi further said it is believed in scriptures that when a name is chanted several times in the same rhythm, it becomes a sound of allness – ‘Brahmnaad’. “Sound has the power to transform a place into a perfect place. I believe that the voice of 7,500 representatives in this House has made it a place of pilgrimage. When a person, who has faith in democracy, comes to see this place 50 years from now, he will feel the echo of the voice of the soul of India that once resonated here.”