Springing A Surprise : Prime Minister Narendra Modi Recalls Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ; Parliament Attack; ; Says G20 Success For India Not For Any Party Or An Individual

Picture : Twitter/ ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to “every brick” of the old Parliament building and said MPs will enter the new building with “new hope and confidence”. PM Modi stated that this Parliament session may be short in duration but is big on occasion, and is of “historic decisions”.

According to  PTI, 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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the words of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and also referred to their contributions. Speaking in the Lok Sabha PM Modi said, “The echoes of Pandit Nehru’s “At the stroke of the midnight…” in this House will keep inspiring us. In this House itself, Atal ji had said, “Sarkarein aayegi-jaayegi, partiyan banegi-bigdegi, lekin ye desh rehna chahiye. This echoes even to this day,” he said.

PM Modi further said , “There was a terror attack (on the Parliament). This was not an attack on a building. In a way, it was an attack on the mother of democracy, on our living soul. The country can never forget that incident. I also bow before those who took bullets to their chest to protect the Parliament and all its members, while fighting the terrorists…”

The Special Session of Parliament began on Monday and will continue till Friday. Speaking on the ‘Parliamentary journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – achievements, experiences, memories and learnings’ in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi also referred to the Parliament shifting to the new building and said “bidding goodbye to this building is an emotional moment”.

Parliament will shift to the new building on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Tuesday.

In his speech PM Modi credited 140 crore Indians for the success of the G20 Summit held here, saying it does not belong to any individual or a party.

Initiating the discussion in Lok Sabha on “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha — Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”, he said the federal structure, diversity, and different state governments welcomed delegates the guests. He also said a summit of the Speakers of Parliaments of the G20 countries will be held soon.

“The success of G-20 belongs to 140 crore Indians. This is the success of India, not of any individual, not the success of any party. The federal structure of India, the diversity of India made it possible to host more than 200 meetings at 60 places to show the myriad colours of India,” PM Modi said.

In Rajya Sabha, LoP and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge quoted by ANI said , “Nehru ji believe that the absence of a strong Opposition means that there are significant drawbacks in the system. If there is no strong Opposition, it is not right. Now, that there is a strong Opposition, focus is on weakening it through ED, CBI…Take them (into their own party), put them in a washing machine and when they come out all clean – make them permanent (in one’s own party). You can see what is happening today. PM comes to the Parliament rarely and when he does he leaves after making it an event…”

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Told ANI outside parliament, “Well this building is full of memories as the PM also said, it is full of history. It will be a sad moment. Let’s hope that the new building has better facilities, new technology and more convenience for the members of the Parliament…But still, it is always an emotional moment to leave an institution which is so full of history and memories… We were all a bit confused as to why it was necessary because many many ways, a lot of bills they have been talking about could have been introduced later. But it is now becoming clear the government wanted to make a special moment out of shifting from one building to another. They have tried to do it in a special way. We can understand the objective there.”