While the Delhi Congress wants the new structure be named after former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha has said that it should bear the name of either Prithviraj Chauhan or the founder of the city, Anangpal Tomar
Forty-four per cent of construction of the new Parliament building in New Delhi is completed. PTI
The construction work on the new Parliament building may only be 44 per cent completed, but it appears that debates on its name have already hit its peak.
The Delhi unit of the Congress and the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha (ABKM), headquartered in New Delhi, have already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their suggestions for the new structure.
Here’s a look at the name game over the Parliament building.
Details on the new Parliament
The foundation stone for the new Parliament building was laid in December 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As per plans, the new building would be a four-storey structure with a seating capacity of 1,224 and cost Rs 970 crore. It would replace the existing colonial structure, which completed 100 years in 2021.
A statement from the government had said that the new structure, triangular in shape, would be an intrinsic part of the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and will be a landmark opportunity to build peoples’ Parliament, for the first time after independence, one which will match the needs and aspirations of ‘New India’ in the 75th anniversary of independence in 2022.
An NDTV report had stated that the new structure would be based on three themes — the national flower, the lotus, the national bird; the peacock and the banyan tree, national tree. While the lotus would feature in the Rajya Sabha of the new structure, the peacock and the banyan tree would be predominant in the Lok Sabha and Central Lounge, respectively.
The new building will also have fresco paintings on the ceiling, shlokas inscribed on the interior walls, and the national emblem crowning the structure, said news reports.
The new building, being constructed by Tata Projects Ltd and designed by Ahmedabad-based HCP Design and Management Pvt Limited, will be equipped with all modern audio-visual communication facilities and data network systems.
The Hindu also reported that the new construction will be wheelchair-accessible. Additionally, the building would have designated accessible offices for ministers and accessible public toilets on all floors.
However, when the Centre had announced the new Parliament plan, it hadn’t been widely accepted and many MPs and environmentalists had opposed it. Many had questioned the need for the government to spend an exorbitant amount of money while the country battled the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, a spokesperson for the Congress had said that the Central Vista Project was a case of “misplaced priorities of a whimsical autocrat seeking to etch his name in the annals of history with cement and mortar”.
On the other hand, conservationists said that the revamp would meddle with the history of the current building, which was designed by Edwin Lutyens. The 1927 building will be a lost heritage, they had reportedly said. Environmentalists also claimed that the Central Vista Project posed a big threat to the environment.
The objections to the Central Vista project, of which the new Parliament is a part of, were so strong that the matter even reached the Supreme Court. In 2021, however, the apex court, gave the green light for the project in a 2:1 verdict.
What’s in a name?
As construction on the new Parliament building speeds up ahead of its scheduled inauguration in October, the Delhi Congress unit appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to name the new building after former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
Congress’ Anil Chaudhary said that they would like to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi name his new parliament building after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, as it would send a message about harmony and cohesion in the country.
A day after the Congress made the request, the ABKM asked that the new construction be either named after Delhi’s last Hindu emperor, Prithviraj Chauhan or the founder of the city, Anangpal Tomar.
An India Today report stated that the ABKM had said that “Delhi has a history that goes back thousands of years and a structure which defines the integrity of the nation should signify its long history”.
In his letter to Narendra Modi, the ABKM president Mahendra Singh Tanwar wrote, “The Tomar Rajput dynasty of Delhi built several structures in and around Delhi after the city’s establishment in the early eight century. Some of them are still present like the Anangpur Dam and the Surajkund in Faridabad.”
He added that people still remembered Prithviraj Chauhan and it would be apt to name the new Parliament after either of these two heroes.
With inputs from agencies
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