After years of making, the New Parliament is all set to make India proud and get rid off its colonial past. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 will inaugurate and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will dedicate it to the nation. However, ahead of the New Parliament inauguration, a massive row has erupted with a majority of the opposition party deciding to boycott the opening ceremony of the newly constructed building. The opposition party including Congress, AAP, TMC, JDU, and more have joined hands to boycott its inauguration. There are many points have been laid down by the opposition for their boycott. The opposition has raised questions over PM Modi integrating the new Parliament rather than the constitutional head President of India Droupadi Murmu. Apart from this, May 28 marks the birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar who was known for his Hindutva ideology which the saffron party also believes in. Another reason is the amount of money spent on the Central Vista Project. As per the opposition, it was not the right time to spend millions of rupees on the construction of the New Parliament. As per reports, the cost of constructing the new building has come to 9.7 billion rupees ($117.1 million, £94.2 million).
Now, keeping aside the controversy, the question arises of how The New Parliament is different from the Old Parliament and what are its advantages. To know the answer continue reading-
New Parliament vs Old Parliament
As per reports, the new parliament building is 'just next door' to the existing building. The old Parliament is almost 100 years old and was built in the British colonial era. The Old Parliament's construction started in 1921 and it was completed in 1927. The foundation stone was laid by HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, in February 1921. It took five years to complete the building. It is a Heritage Grade-1 building.
On the other hand, New Parliament Plan was conceived in September 2019 and after a span of 5 years, it is all set to be integrated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
The Old Parliament was built during British colonial era and it was designed as the ‘Council House’. When India became independent, it was converted to serve as Parliament House. As per Central Vista's official website, the Old Parliament building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged democracy.
The present Lok Sabha and Central Hall in the Old Parliamet are full to their capacity and cannot be expanded any further. The Lok Sabha can seat a maximum of 552 persons, and the Central Hall a maximum of 436 persons, however, at least 200 adhoc/ temporary seats are added in the aisles during joint sessions which is undignified and unsafe as per Central Vista.
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What will happen to the old Parliament?
Now, those wondering what will happen to the Old Parliament, once the New Parliament will be operating, here's what you should know. As per reports, the Old Parliament building will be transformed into a “Museum Of Democracy”.
What's special in New Parliament?
In an attempt to make the event history as well as win Tamil people's hearts, 'Sengol', a historical scepter from Tamil Nadu was received by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent the transfer of power from the British and was kept in a museum in Allahabad, will be installed in the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28.