‘My good fortune’: Ex PM Devegowda on the new Parliament building inauguration | Bengaluru

After the inauguration of new Parliament building in New Delhi, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Devegowda who participated in the event shared his views. The 91-year-old reminisced about his first term as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the house and mentioned his elevation as Prime Minister of India in 1996.

In a special note to the people of the country, Devegowda wrote, “It is my good fortune that I witnessed a great moment in India’s democratic history. I entered the Karnataka legislative assembly in 1962 and have been a Member of Parliament since 1991. When I entered this great house of the people 32 years ago, I had never thought I will be Prime Minister, and I did not expect to last this long in public life. But the even bigger surprise is that I never thought I will be seated in a new Parliament building in my lifetime-I did so at the age of 91.”

He further remembered the freedom movement and called it a priceless achievement. The ex-PM further wrote, “When the old Parliament House was inaugurated, we were still under colonial rule. Freedom was not in the horizon. The British built magnificent buildings in New Delhi thinking the sun will never set on their empire. But great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Subhas Bose, Maulana Azad and many other brave men showed us the path to freedom. After Independence, tall figures like Acharya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, JB Kripalani, Charan Singh and Rammanohar Lohia kept the conscience of the nation. Our nation and parliament is not stained by a bloody revolution. We became a nation through peaceful and non-violent means. This was a priceless achievement. That is our inheritance and that is the value system we have to preserve and pass on to our future generations.”

HD Devegowda even explained how Parliament house had different phases, leaders and remained the home of democracy. “Since Independence, our Parliament has seen highs and lows, it has seen arrogance and humility, victories and defeats, but overall, it has tried to keep a balance and fulfil the aspirations of the people of India. The Parliament has nourished all nature of opinion, all castes, all ethnicities, all religions all languages and all geographies. It has accommodated all nature of opinion, ideas and ideologies. It has celebrated diversity and there is no greater goal for us in this new home of our democracy than to preserve this enormous diversity of India. The people of India have always been watchful and very wise. Whenever they have seen someone commit excess and disturb the equilibrium of our nation, they have quietly taken them out of this great house. They have taught us all public servants the hardest lessons at times. I salute all the people of India on this occasion of the inauguration of the new Parliament building,” he added.

At the inauguration of the New Parliament House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the historical and sacred “Sengol” in the new Parliament House on Sunday. A special Rs. 75 coin is also launched to commemorate the inauguration of the New Parliament building.