PM Modi makes major conciliatory speech as nation transitions to new Parliament
Hindustan TimesPrime Minister Narendra Modi opened a special session of Parliament on Monday with an emotive speech, for the one last time from the existing Parliament house, in which he paid rich tributes to the country’s democratic traditions and recalled contributions of all former prime ministers – Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Manmohan Singh – and said the colonial-era premises will remain a “source of inspiration” and “place of pilgrimage” for all times to come. “Just like a family is filled with memories when they leave an old house to step into a new, our hearts are filled with emotions.” “Therefore, when I became an MP for the first time, I bowed my head on its doorsteps as I entered this temple of democracy for the first time,” the PM said, adding: “It is the faith in this house of the people which enabled a small tea-seller to come to this august house.” Construction of a new parliament building began on Dec 10, 2020, when Modi laid the foundation stone and called the building an inherent part of a “self-reliant India”. Referring to Nehru’s first Cabinet and its law minister BR Ambedkar, Modi said Ambedkar sought to imbibe the “best practices of the world” and came out with a historic Factory Act. In the years of Manmohan Singh government, this house also saw cash for votes”, Modi said referring to a scam in which cash was displayed in Lok Sabha during a trust vote In a reference to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Modi said that MPs have attended sessions of the house as a call of duty despite facing ill-health and personal misfortunes.