Days after the new building of the Parliament became operational, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday (September 23) attacked the Modi government for constructing a compact and claustrophobic building.
While taking to X (formerly Twitter), he claimed, “After four days, what I saw was the death of confabulations and conversations—both inside the two Houses and in the lobbies. If architecture can kill democracy, the PM has already succeeded even without rewriting the Constitution.”
“Binoculars are needed to see each other since the halls are simply not cozy or compact. The old Parliament building not only had a certain aura but it facilitated conversations,” the Congress leader alleged.
Jairam Ramesh accused the Centre of turning the new Parliament building into ‘Modi Marriot/ Modi Muliplex’, which did not facilitate conversations between politicians.
Hinting at a larger conspiracy into the architecture of the building, he said “It was easy to walk between Houses, the Central Hall, and the corridors. This new one weakens the bonding needed to make the running of Parliament a success. Quick coordination between the two Houses is now exceedingly cumbersome.”
“The old building gave you a sense of space and openness while the new one is almost claustrophobic…The new complex is painful and agonising,” the Congress leader remarked.
The sheer joy of simply hanging out in Parliament has disappeared. I used to look forward to going to the old building…This is what happens when no consultations are done with the people who will use the building,” he brazened out.
Soon after, other Congress leaders came up with more bizarre criticism of the new Parliament building. Party MP Pramod Tiwari said, “In a country like India, to fully air-condition the Parliament house is unscientific and impractical. There was a lobby, a central hall in the old Parliament…”
He claimed that the air-conditioning in the new building was making MPs fall ill. “There is an air circulation defect in the new building. In the 13 hours, I was present there the environment was suffocating. There is a large distance between the chair and the desk…The back support there is not comfortable…” he alleged.
While accusing the Modi government of turning the building into a 7-star hotel, Tiwari claimed, “The openness that was in the old Parliament building was more scientific, more practical and good for the health…I know about 50 MPs who got ill due to the air conditioning there..”