1 week ago
Tharoor Criticises New Parliament Building As Soulless Conference Centre
Shashi Tharoor said India’s new Parliament building feels more like a large conference centre than a friendly meeting place.
He said its high ceiling and fan-shaped seating make people feel farther apart.
He also said the old building encouraged MPs from different parties to talk informally.
The new building does not have the old Central Hall, where MPs, former MPs, observers and journalists could meet.
Tharoor connected this physical distance to the growing disagreement in politics.
He warned that adding many more members to the Lok Sabha could make serious discussion harder.
He still acknowledged that the new building fixed the old problem of MPs having to squeeze past one another.
John Brittas also criticised the building and said the quality of parliamentary debate was more important than having a new structure.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the new Parliament building lacks the intimacy and coziness of the old chambers.
Tharoor attributed the distancing to the building’s high ceiling, fan-like layout and absence of a Central Hall.
He said the building’s design reflects growing political polarisation and declining cross-party interaction.
Tharoor warned that expanding the Lok Sabha to 850 members could weaken meaningful parliamentary debate.
Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas criticised the building’s aesthetics, parliamentary discourse and secrecy surrounding its cost.
- Who
- Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas criticised aspects of India’s new Parliament building.
- What
- They questioned its design, lack of informal meeting spaces, effect on parliamentary interaction and the secrecy surrounding its cost.
- Where
- The remarks were made in New Delhi at the launch of Sobhana K Nair’s book, “Housing the Republic: A Biography of the Indian Parliament.”
- When
- Tharoor made the comments on Thursday, August 20; the new building was inaugurated in 2023.
- Why
- Tharoor said the building’s design reduces intimacy and mirrors political polarisation, while Brittas focused on declining parliamentary debate and the lack of cost transparency.
Critics of the New Building
Modernisation Rationale
Design and parliamentary interaction
Critics of the New Building
Tharoor and Brittas said the building feels impersonal, discourages informal exchanges and coincides with weaker parliamentary discourse.
Modernisation Rationale
The new building provides expanded seating and state-of-the-art facilities, while addressing the old chamber’s cramped seating arrangement.
Purpose of the project
Critics of the New Building
Brittas argued that a new structure does not improve Parliament unless the substance of parliamentary debate improves.
Modernisation Rationale
The government’s Central Vista project envisioned replacing colonial-era government buildings, and the new Parliament was built as part of that complex.
Future expansion
Critics of the New Building
Tharoor warned that increasing the Lok Sabha to 850 members could turn MPs into strangers and reduce meaningful discussion.
Modernisation Rationale
Tharoor acknowledged that the new Lower House has the physical room for the proposed expansion.
Key facts
- New building
- Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023.
- Design criticism
- Tharoor criticised the high ceiling, fan-like seating layout and lack of a Central Hall.
- Seating capacity
- The four-storey building has expanded seating capacity.
- Lok Sabha expansion
- Tharoor warned that a proposed expansion to 850 members could weaken meaningful deliberation.
- Old building advantage
- Tharoor said the new building eliminated the need for MPs to squeeze past colleagues to reach the aisle.
- Cost concern
- Brittas said he was told the new building’s actual expenditure was secret.
- Book discussed
- “Housing the Republic,” published by Bloomsbury, traces Parliament’s history from 1919 to the new building in 2023.
Quotes
Shashi Tharoor
Congress leader and former minister
“The new Parliament really does come across as a kind of soulless conference centre, and there are various reasons for it…”
theprint.in
Sources
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