Respect the temple

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Respect the temple

Monday, 29 May 2023 | Pioneer

Respect the temple

Leaders say Parliament is the temple of democracy, so they should not desecrate it with pandemonium

The inauguration of the new parliament building and installation of a historic sceptre ‘Sengol' near the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other related activities on Sunday, will continue to be debated for some time. Supporters and members of the Government and Bharatiya Janata Party will reiterate grandiloquent statements, lauding the very idea of getting a new Parliament, its symbolism-heavy architecture and furnishing, and so on. The Opposition, on the other hand, will continue to make barbed remarks about the entire affair, as it has been in the last few days. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had earlier quoted Articles 60 and 111 of the Constitution, claiming that as head of Parliament, the President should have inaugurated the building. The TMC’s reaction was a mix of condemnation and ridicule: the Prime Minister inaugurating the new Parliament building was akin to “I only love myself day,” party MP Derek O’Brien said on Sunday. It is indubitable, however, that the country needed a new Parliament. The need was felt not just by this Government but also earlier. In 2012, Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar had constituted a high-powered committee to recommend an alternate complex to the old Parliament building. But the need was just on the grounds of functionality, though these were sufficient enough for the alternate building. The old structure, made a century ago, could not cope with the requirements that have arisen in this period.

The Prime Minister rightly said that the new Parliament is not just a building but a reflection of the aspirations and dreams of 140 crore Indians. “This is a temple of our democracy that gives a message of India’s resolution to the world,” he said. “This new Parliament building connects planning to reality, policy to realisation, willpower to execution, and sankalp to siddhi,” he added. He went on to say, “India is not only a democratic nation but also the mother of democracy.” For, he asserted, democracy is not just a system that is practiced in India but it is a culture, thought and tradition. The roots of democracy in our country, he correctly said, go back to the Vedas and Vaishali in modern Bihar. Parliament has been called the temple of democracy by many people, both from the Government and the Opposition. So, it is the duty of all political parties and leaders to ensure that the sanctity of this temple is upheld by everyone in every circumstance all the time. This temple should not suffer any desecration. It means that business is conducted in both Houses in the best traditions of democracy. Senior leaders should ensure that when an opponent is speaking, he or she is allowed to say whatever they want to, that they are not shouted down. Also, all parliamentarians should respect the chair, speak within the timeframe that is provided to them, and so on. This will strengthen our democracy.

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