Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building. The building is set to be completed by 2022. Its estimated cost is INR 971 crore.
Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, foreign Envoys and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also present at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Parliament building. pic.twitter.com/DnkranVSuY
— ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2020
An inter-faith prayer was held at 1.30 pm to mark the occasion. This was followed by the PM Modi’s address. “If the old Parliament House gave direction to post-independence India, the new building would become a witness to the creation of ”Atmanirbhar Bharat”,” the prime minister said.
The new building will have 888 seats for the Lok Sabha chamber, while there will be 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber. Additionally, the new Lok Sabha chamber will be able to accommodate 1224 members for a joint session. The whole project will take up the area of 64,500 sq m. It will be earthquake-resistant and equipped with modern digital technology.
You can hear the PM’s speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s6pAdvB4wU
You can watch the full ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTzUrpZL-s
Niharika Dabral | Inputs from ANI