Excellent democratic traditions should be maintained in new Parliament: Sumitra Mahajan

Indore: Former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan has welcomed the shifting of Parliament from the old building and expressed the hope that the excellent democratic traditions will be upheld in the new building.

Amid frequent ruckus in Parliament and state assemblies, Mahajan stressed that more attention should be given to the principle of "discuss, debate and decide" in a democratic system.

Mahajan added that she didn't mean discussions are not happening in Parliament these days.

"New Parliament building is a long time need as MPs face a lot of difficulties due to the space constraint in the old building. They also faced difficulties in getting modern technical facilities,” Mahajan told PTI in an interview.

Parliament will be shifting to the swanky complex on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Tuesday.

"I hope the excellent traditions of our democracy will be upheld in the new Parliament building and new dimensions will be added with the help of modern technology. Besides, I also want the House to function peacefully in the new building and hold detailed discussions,” the former Indore MP said.

Mahajan stressed the new Parliament building is bigger than the old building and spacious.

"The space in front of the chairman's seat in the new Parliament building is relatively deep and if a member wants to reach there, he/she will have to get down from the seat. The Speaker's seat in the new building is also at a higher position compared to the old building,” she added.

The 80-year-old BJP leader said due to the position of the Speaker's seat in the new building, members would not be able to pick up documents kept on the table during din or bang it.

Mahajan had served as Indore MP for eight consecutive terms from 1989 to 2014, which is a record. Since 2019, she stayed away from electoral politics.

Recalling the bygone era, she said earlier there used to be detailed discussions in Parliament and the emphasis was on ensuring that the House functions as long as possible.

“However, the functioning duration of sessions reduced gradually and some people started projecting such a picture that the House is only for creating a ruckus, to remain adamant on one's view and to show it on television," Mahajan added.

She recalled coming across such scenes when she was the speaker of Lok Sabha.

"Obviously, I didn't like seeing all this,” Mahajan added.

Queried about Parliament not being able to function full-time due to din during sittings at times, the former speaker said such a situation is prevailing in the state assemblies too.

"We have to look at the true meaning of democracy. Discuss, Debate and Decide are the three things which are important in a democracy. These three things are important (to decide on a subject after discussion and debate). We should pay more attention to it,” Mahajan said but added that she did not mean that discussions are not taking place in Parliament these days.

We have also seen that many a times, members take part in the parliamentary proceedings till late night, she said.

Mahajan also said that after 75 years of Independence, parliamentary work is being shifted to the new building, but the memories of the old Parliament House are still alive in the minds of many like her.

"In the old parliament building we had witnessed a powerful discussion taking place with many leaders ranging from Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Indrajit Gupta and Chandra Shekhar taking part in these discussions," she recalled.