India’s new Parliament building is ready with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to dedicate it to the nation on May 28.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday met the Prime Minister and invited him to inaugurate the New Parliament Building. “Construction of the new Parliament building is complete now. It symbolises the spirit of self –reliant India. The PM has agreed to dedicate it to the nation on May 28 after the Speaker invited him,” a release from the Speaker’s office later said.The new Parliament will be able to seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 300 in Rajya Sabha.
The present building can accommodateonly 543 Members in Lok Sabha and 250 in the Rajya Sabha.“Keeping in view the future requirements, arrangements have been made for a meeting of 888 members in the Lok Sabha while 300 members in the Rajya Sabha in the newly constructed building of the Parliament. The joint session of both the Houses will be held in Lok Sabha Chamber only, and in that case 1280 MPs will be able to sit there,” the LS secretariat said. The current Parliament building was completed in 1927 and is going to be almost 100 years old, posing structural risks. Lack of space was a recurring issue in the current building which also did not have adequate arrangements for seating of MPs.Considering the above, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed resolutions urging the government to construct a new building for the Parliament.Consequently, on December 10, 2020, the foundation stone of the new building of Parliament was laid by Prime Minister Modi.