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Centre obsessed about new Parliament, but doesn’t allow discussions: Anand Sharma
Commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament, Sharma said the move sent out a wrong message about the functioning of the government
The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of being “too obsessed” about the new Parliament building, while “never allowing any discussion from the opposition” when the House proceedings are on.
“Democracy is shrinking in the largest democracy of the world and magnificent buildings are being obsessed about. The government needs to know that wherever democracy and parliamentary system has flourished, it has not because of such monumental buildings. The new parliament building is being built and celebrated, but the government should also allow discussions instead of just talking about the glamour of the building,” Congress leader and former commerce minister Anand Sharma said during a press conference.
Sharma also slammed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the “economic situation” of the country and underlined how the unemployment rate is stuck at 8%.
“Does anyone know the statistics as of March 2023? Throughout the entirety of the past year till now, the unemployment rate has been stuck at 8%. This is a serious issue, and the government should answer this. Surely if you listen to the finance minister or the propaganda machinery of the government, everything will seem fine. But it’s high time we ask these questions,” the Congress leader added.
Commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament, Sharma said the move sent out a wrong message about the functioning of the government but hoped “justice” from the judiciary.
“Constitutional democracy is a challenge, more so when opposition leaders are the targets. This too is a litmus test for the Indian judiciary. How Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and disqualification was expedited does not send out a great message about the government. But if such things are promoted, you will find all opposition members outside the Parliament. I don’t doubt that things will be better over time and any wrong decisions will be overturned, but still it’s clear how dangerous the situation is,” Sharma said.
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Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla while speaking to HT hit back at Sharma and Congress while alleging that the party (Congress) were responsible for the washout during the 2023 Budget sessions of the Parliament. Poonawalla also said that Sharma and the Congress had themselves demanded for the new building and how Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had “battled” for it. He further added the New Parliament building was “a priority” and not “vanity”.
“The Congress party is itself to blame for the washout in the Parliamentary sessions. It put the ego of a family above the institution and their own allies have distanced themselves for stalling the Parliament on the JPC issue. Rahul Gandhi could have very well apologized to Parliament for the statements he made on foreign soil demanding foreign intervention. But he put his ego above the institution. So the Congress should not be lecturing about Parliament not being allowed to function in fact if anybody has stifled the voice of the Parliament it was the Congress party in 1975.”
“But today why is Anand Sharma and Congress doing a U-turn on something they demanded. The new Parliament building was demanded by the Congress party and it was assented to by then Speaker Meira Kumar who said that it was the need of the hour. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and many others battled for it and the current Parliament building is not upto the mark when it comes to fire safety standards, and earthquake zones regulations also it was made by the British to serve as an imperial council not as a legislature of a democratic India whose population is 140 crores. There may be in the future more MPs/MLAs need to be added, for that space is required, which is not possible in the current Parliament. So, considering all these factors, it was a priority in 2012 so how does it become vanity in 2023? This is the U-turn that Congress does whenever it’s out of power be it on GST, Aadhar or any issue. It only goes to show that perhaps Congress is not getting to make money out of commission, that is why they are obstructing this new Parliament building. This is not private property and will function as a new Parliament building and serve us for decades and years to come. So, this is not private property for those who have named and formed schemes after themselves, that is vanity, this (New Parliament building) is a priority”, he added.
“And this project was said to be essential and of national importance by the High Court and the judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court, in fact the petitioners who came from the same Congress ecosystem were even fined for their frivolous petition,” the BJP spokesperson said.
The new Parliament at the heart of Lutyens in Delhi is expected to be operational by early August this year. It is being constructed as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project.
The new complex will have 888 seats in the Lok Sabha and 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha. Unlike the present Parliament building, the new edifice will not have a central hall. The Lok Sabha chamber will be able to house 1,272 members in case of a joint session. The rest of the building will have four floors with offices of ministers and committee rooms.
