Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, May 28, inaugurated the new Parliament building in New Delhi, and installed the ‘Sengol’ (sceptre) from 1947 near the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair. Ahead of installation of the Sengol, a ‘multi-faith’ prayer ceremony was held. It includes a traditional prayer 'pooja' containing Vedic rituals done under a pandal (canopy), that was put up near the Gandhi statue. The ‘sengol’ was given to the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru by a group of priests from a Saivite monastery in Tamil Nadu.
After the ceremony, the Prime Minister received the 'Sengol' from the Adheenams' seers and then installed it inside the new Parliament building near the Lok Sabha Speaker's Chair. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accompanied the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister along with Birla unveiled the plaque to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
The Prime Minister also felicitated the workers, who were involved in the construction and development of the new Parliament building by giving them shawls and mementos. The inaugural ceremony began with an early morning havan. Representatives of 25 political parties and many dignitaries, including Chief Ministers and ministers, are in attendance for the inauguration. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar and Jitendra Singh, Chief Ministers of several states and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda were also present on the occasion.
Twenty opposition parties, including the Congress, are boycotting the inauguration of the new four-storey Parliament House.
The installation of Sengol in Parliament met with multiple controversies as it was a monarchic practice, and was also called out for the inaccurate historic details provided by the government.
(With IANS inputs)