V-P Dhankhar hoists National Flag at new Parliament Building, dubs it 'historic moment'

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) A day before the start of the special Parliament Session, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday hoisted the National Flag at the top of Gaja Dwar of new Parliament Building, dubbing it as a 'historic moment'.

Besides the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Union ministers V Muraleedharan, Piyush Goyal, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Pramod Tiwari were present on the occasion.

Speaking to media, Dhankhar said, "It is a historic moment. Bharat is witnessing epochal change. The world is in total recognition of might power and contribution of Bharat. We are living in times, where we are witnessing development, achievements which we never dreamt of..."

The five-day special Parliament session is scheduled to begin on September 18. 

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday missed the function citing the scheduled two-day meeting of Congress Working Committee, party's highest decision making body. 

Kharge skips flag hoisting function at new Parliament building, writes to RS General Secy
New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who is currently in Hyderabad for a two-day Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting wrote to Rajya Sabha General Secretary Pramod Chandra Mody about his inability to attend the flag hoisting function at the new Parliament building on Sunday.

In a letter to the Rajya Sabha General Secretary, Kharge said, "I am writing this letter with a sense of disappointment that I have received your invite for flag hoisting function tomorrow at New Parliament Building only on 15 September 2023 quite late in the evening."

"This is to inform you that meetings of the newly constituted CWC have been scheduled for September 16 and 17, respectively at Hyderabad," he said.

The LoP in Rajya Sabha said that since the programmes had been fixed much in advance, "I am presently in Hyderabad to hold the meetings". 

"As I will return to Delhi late night on 17 September 2023, it will not be feasible for me to attend the function scheduled for tomorrow morning," he added.

Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar will hoist the national flag at the new Parliament building on Sunday, a day ahead of the five-day special session of Parliament. 

The event will also be attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Ministers of State of Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghawal and V. Muraleedharan, and leaders of political parties in both Houses, among others.

A meeting of the floor leaders of all political parties is also scheduled at 4.30 p.m. on Sunday, ahead of the five-day special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22.

"Ahead of the parliament session from the 18 of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been convened on the 17th at 4.30 P.M.," Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a social media post earlier this week. "The invitation for the same has been sent to concerned leaders through email. Letter to follow," he added.