Lets move to new Parliament building with new hope, confidence: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to "every brick" of the old Parliament building and said MPs will enter the new building with "new hope and confidence".
In his over an hour-long speech in the Lok Sabha, Modi remembered the journey of India's democracy and said the last day in this heritage building should be dedicated to the over 7,500 parliamentarians who served in this building since Independence.
Parliament will shift to the new building on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Tuesday.
"Today we have an opportunity to connect with the past. We are leaving this building with hope for the future. I am confident that as we enter the new Parliament building, we will go there with new hope and confidence," the prime minister said.
"Today is the day for remembering the 7,500 MPs who have served here... I salute every brick of this building," he said.
Highlighting the historical importance of the old Parliament building, PM Modi recalled that while the order for its construction was given by foreign rulers, it was constructed through the sweat, hard work and money of Indians.
"Today, we are taking leave from this historic building. Before Independence, this was the Imperial Legislative Council and after Independence, it became the Parliament building," he said.
"We may go to the new building but... this building will always continue to inspire the coming generations. This is an important chapter in the golden journey of India's democracy," the prime minister said, adding that the memories of the old Parliament House belong to everyone.
Modi also recalled his first day in the Parliament House. "When I became a Member of Parliament for the first time and entered this building... I naturally bowed my head before I set foot inside the door of this Parliament House, paying homage to this temple of democracy," he said.
"That moment was full of emotions for me, I could not have imagined but it is the strength of Indian democracy, it is a reflection of the faith of the common man of India towards democracy that a child from a poor family living on a railway platform could reach Parliament," Modi added.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
