Watch videos: New Parliament building carries forward the idea of India as the mother of democracy

Prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday morning for a new rising India. The building is the link between the traditional and the new India as it carries forward the country’s ancient democratic traditions to the electoral democracy that the country follows.

PM Modi inaugurated the building in the company of holy men with a multi-faith prayer meeting and by felicitating workers who helped in the construction of the new parliament.

Priests from across Tamil Nadu handed over the historic sengol to the Prime Minister as it was installed near the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair in the new Parliament building. The Prime minister prostrated before the sengol, a representation of transfer of power from the Chola empire, which was then taken to the new building to the accompaniment of chants from the Vedas.

Sri Harihara Desika Swamigal, the 293rd head priest of Madurai Adheenam told news agency ANI: “I feel very proud to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building. PM Modi has always stood proudly with the Tamil culture and Tamil people. Modi ji is the first PM who invited Tamil Adheenams and proudly encourages the Tamil culture in the Parliament:

Priests from different faiths represented the diverse people of the nation as ‘sarv-dharma’ prayers were held at the new Parliament building which can accommodate 888 members in the lower house.

Continuing with his reach-out to people as he had done earlier by having lunch with the construction workers of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, the Prime Minister spoke with the workers involved in the construction of the new Parliament building. Tens of thousands of labourers worked on the building, for whom a digital gallery has been dedicated.

“It is a very proud moment”, 97-year-old Vummidi Ethiraj of the Vummidi Bangaru Chetty family, the makers of the historic ‘Sengol’ told ANI on its installation in the new Parliament building.

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