Attempt to Saffronise the Inauguration of the New Parliament Building, PM Modi Places the Sengol in the Lok Sabha
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the New Parliament Building on Sunday, it is important to note how religious indoctrination can be used as a tool by the Central Government
New Delhi: Started on the 10th of December, 2020 as a part of India’s Central Vista Redevelopment Project, the new parliament building was inaugurated after its successful completion by Tata Projects Ltd. This multi-billion-dollar project started during the Covid-19 pandemic can house over 1,200 people in its four-storey building. On 28th of May, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new parliament building and said “The new Parliament building will be a testament to the dawn of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). It will be a witness to our journey towards a Viksit Bharat (developed India),”. Also, with 19 opposition parties issuing a joint statement to state their boycott of this ceremony, a Public Interest Litigation had been filed on Friday by Advocate CR Jaya Sukin in the Supreme Court seeking a direction that the inauguration should be done by the President of India.
PM Modi’s entry inside the new Lok Sabha was greeted by a standing ovation and chanting of Hindu mantras. As the ex-Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi tweeted how PM Modi is “treating the ceremony like his coronation”, many other opposition leaders and politicians started pointing out the “attempt to saffronise” the entire event. From Bhoomi Pujan on 10th December 2020 when the foundation stone was laid by PM Modi to the puja and havan held on Sunday morning right before the inauguration.
PM Modi also installed the historic ‘Sengol’ near the Lok Sabha’s speaker’s chair. While its history is not very clear, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government have regarded it as something iconic depicting the “transfer of power”.
All of this happened while over 700 people including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and even Vinesh Phogat protesting in front of the old parliament building were detained by the Delhi Police (DP) on charges of rioting against them.
