Central Vista project extension of BJP’s divisive agenda: Speakers

Redevelopment of the Central Vista cannot be “seen in isolation” from the agenda that the Narendra Modi dispensation has been pursuing since its re-election last year, speakers at an event organised to discuss the politics over the public space said here on Wednesday.

The speakers, who ranged from Carnatic singer T M Krishna to senior journalist N Ram to anthropologist Mathangi Krishnamoorthy to architect Madhav Raman, said the redevelopment of the 3-km stretch from the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan to the majestic India Gate in New Delhi is part of attempts to rewrite the history and wipe off colonial traces from the country.

The Modi government has taken up redevelopment of the Central Vista to accommodate most government offices in the 3-km stretch and the project is likely to cost anywhere between Rs 12,000 crores to Rs 20,000 crores.

All the four speakers unanimously agreed that there should be “extensive consultations and discussions” on redevelopment of the Central Vista, which is a public space.

They said the way with which the grandiose project is being pushed cannot be seen in isolation – it is connected with the BJP’s agenda that brought in “highly controversial” moves like the CAA and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

“These public spaces belong to the people of the country. The area around India Gate is where Delhi celebrates festivals, hold protests and undertake candlelight vigils. It is at the same place families come for a picnic with their little ones. And you want to deny them their public space and abandon the living heritage?” asked architect Madhav Raman.

Raman, who has launched a movement to protect public spaces of Delhi and runs a website named www.lokpath.in, stressed on the need for discussion and wide dialogue on the project. The speakers also questioned the government on the funding for such a huge project when the country was staring at an economic crisis.

Krishna, the outspoken Carnatic singer and author, said the Parliament House, Rajpath and Rashtrapati Bhavan are part of democratic India and the government shouldn’t do anything to erase history or try to rewrite history.

“Lutyens Delhi has become an abusive term and when it comes to media, it is used as an abuse. These people (RSS and BJP) have been trying to tell us that everything that was part of the colonial legacy is wrong and they want to correct that. And if you actually listen to speeches by those in RSS, they say the Constitution of India is alien to this country,” he said.

Ram, the Chairman of The Hindu group, suggested that the redevelopment of Central Vista could be part of the “very provocative and highly divisive” agenda of the BJP Government and asked people to differentiate “hyper-nationalism from patriotism”.

He also focussed on how the rules are being bent to allow projects like redevelopment of Central Vista, which is being hushed up in a “secretive” manner.