In this Parliament, Nehru spoke at ‘stroke of midnight hour’, continues to inspire, says PM Modi

During his speech, Modi referred to the growing representation and contribution of women MPs in the House proceedings. "Around 600 women MPs have enhanced dignity of both Houses," he said.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: September 19, 2023 06:46 AM IST

3 min read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Lok Sabha during the Parliament's special session on Monday. (Video screengrab/ Sansad TV)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi started off the special session of Parliament Monday with an address in the Lok Sabha, where he talked about the significant historical events that took place in the old Parliament building in the last 75 years.

The House proceedings will move to the New Parliament building on Tuesday (September 19), and the discussion on the journey of 75 years of the old Parliament is likely to be the last one in the old premises.

During his speech, Modi said leaving the old building was an “emotional moment” and that it will continue to inspire generations. He cited how India’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, gave his famous ‘stroke of midnight’ speech in the Parliament premises, marking India’s independence from British colonial rule.

In his address, Modi went back to the Parliament building’s origin as the premises for the Imperial Legislative Council of the colonial-era British government. He said, “It is true that the decision to construct this building was taken by foreign rulers but we can never forget and can proudly say that the toil, the hard work and the money that went into the construction was that of our countrymen.”

He also lauded the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission and the G20 Summit. He said that the success of the latter belonged to the “140 crore people” of the country, and not to one individual or party alone. He added that it was India’s power that had brought about consensus in the G20 Declaration, which included paragraphs on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

During his speech, Modi referred to the growing representation and contribution of women MPs in the House proceedings. He said that while their numbers had been low earlier, they had continuously increased over the years. “Around 600 women MPs have enhanced dignity of both Houses,” he said.

This comes amid Opposition’s demands for a Bill on women’s reservation to be introduced in the special session, which they had raised in the all-party meeting convened on Sunday (September 17). The government did not respond to the demands then.

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Modi went on to say that the biggest achievement of the Parliament was the “ever-growing” trust of people in the institution. He concluded his speech by asking MPs to share their memories of the old building of Parliament.

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