Opposition parties won’t shift office to new Parliament, cite lack of adequate space
Animesh Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 4
The ruling NDA coalition and the opposition INDIA bloc seem to be heading for a confrontation as almost all major entities in the bloc, led by the Congress, have refused to set up their party offices in the new Parliament building, citing reasons ranging from lack of adequate space to sentimental attachment to their offices in the original Parliament building.
TMC yet to take call
- Sources said the government had offered rooms to all parties on the first floor of the new Parliament building to set up their office
- However, it had not got an enthusiastic response from the opposition parties; the TMC is yet to decide on the offer
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, is yet to take a call on whether or not to take up space for its party office in the new building.
Sources said the government had offered rooms to all parties on the first floor of the new Parliament building to set up their offices. However, it had not got an enthusiastic response from the opposition parties.
The Congress, which has ample space in its existing office on the first floor of the original Parliament building, is learnt to have declined the offer for space in the new building, saying it is not interested.
The Samajwadi Party, which has its office on the third floor of the old Parliament building, has cited sentimental attachment as the main reason behind not shifting to the new space on offer in the new building.
It is learnt that party president and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav said his father and party patriarch, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, used to sit in the existing party office in the old Parliament building and, therefore, they wanted to retain the office in his memory.
Moreover, party sources said, the existing office was quite comfortable with adequate space for all.
The DMK, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), too, are learnt to have expressed reluctance in moving their offices to the new building. The TMC’s office on the ground floor of the original Parliament building is narrow, but it has not yet decided whether or not to shift to the new building.
The development is likely to add to the acrimony between the ruling NDA and the opposition bloc. Cutting across party lines, there has been a general lack of enthusiasm among MPs regarding the new Parliament building, which lacks a central hall and a place for MPs to sit and relax.
A common refrain among leaders is that the new building does not have space like that in the old Parliament’s iconic Central Hall.
Moreover, facilities like restrooms and drinking water are also situated at a distance. The confusing design leads to visitors and MPs often losing their way while negotiating the narrow corridors of the new Parliament building. The leaking roofs during the ongoing monsoon have also not added to its repertoire.
During last week’s rain, water had gushed inside the new Parliament building and its roof had also started leaking.
