India\u2019s parliament shifts to a new complex after decades in colonial-era building
\nNEW DELHI
\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi and lawmakers paid tribute on Monday to India\u2019s parliament on the eve of its shift from a British colonial-era building to a brand-new complex.
\nBuilt by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker two decades before India\u2019s 1947 independence, the old parliament witnessed the tortuous birth of the republic and thereafter served as a custodian of the world\u2019s biggest democracy.
\nNow it is to become a museum, its 788 members moving to a new, triangular-shaped complex as part of a $2.4 billion rebuild of institutions with a more Indian identity.
\n\u201cToday is an occasion to recollect and reminisce the parliamentary journey of 75 years of India before the proceedings are shifted to the newly inaugurated building,\u201d Modi told a special session before Tuesday\u2019s move.
\nIn May, Modi inaugurated the new parliament, part of an ambitious redevelopment of the Central Vista complex in New Delhi, amid protests from opposition parties who had wanted India\u2019s president to inaugurate instead.
\nThe new, larger four-storey building can seat 1,272.
\n\u201cIt is a very emotional moment to bid farewell to the old parliament building … Its glory also belongs to us,\u201d Modi told lawmakers in the lower house of the old parliament.
\nHis speech marked the start of a five-day special session called by the government, but there was no immediate confirmation on bills up for discussion.
\nIndian lawmakers usually meet thrice a year: a budget session, a monsoon session and a winter session.
\nWhile opposition leaders questioned the significance of the special session, they bid farewell to the old building and looked forward to better logistics, security and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India\u2019s parliament shifts to a new complex after decades in colonial-era building NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lawmakers paid tribute on Monday to India\u2019s parliament on the eve of its shift from a British colonial-era building to a brand-new complex. Built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker two decades before India\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-356839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n