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Central Hall of Parliament: The unsung tales

The hall was central to the struggles for freedom, erection of political structures, adoption of the tricolour, national anthem and drafting of the Constitution
Last Updated 21 August 2022, 02:27 IST

What strikes you the moment you enter the magnificent Central Hall of Parliament is that it looks so familiar to you. You have seen it in many photographs and several newsreels. You have seen images and visuals of the Constituent Assembly, Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, and the midnight announcement of India’s Independence — all happened in this circular hall.

This hall was central to the struggles for freedom, it was central to the erection of our political structures that defined independent India, the adoption of the tricolour, the adoption of our national anthem, and the drafting of the Constitution, everything happened there. What model should India follow, all decisions were taken here. For everything connected with modern independent India, the Central Hall is central to it. That is what makes it a unique structure in India’s historical evolution.

It was called Central Hall as it was in the centre of three halls — House of Commons (now Lok Sabha chamber), House of Lords (Rajya Sabha chamber) and House of the Princely States (reading room). If you go to the reading room, even today you will find the insignia, the court of arms as they call it, the symbols of every princely state lined up there.

Before 2005, when I became an MP, I had never set my foot inside. When you are in Parliament, this is where leaders and MPs cutting across ideological divisions meet to discuss. There is a conversation in the lighter vein, some are serious chatter. Stalemates are broken here. When both the government and Opposition are obdurate, how do you break the ice? The Central Hall always sets the stage for the negotiations if the one at a minister’s office or a leader’s room fails to break the ice. Talks over a cup of tea and the famed bread toast used to break the impasse and help Parliament to function smoothly.

Take the case of a vote of confidence in July 2008 after the Left withdrew support to the UPA government over the Indo-US nuclear deal. The government was in minority on paper but suddenly Samajwadi Party changed sides tilting the scales. It was then the high drama unfolded with the BJP MPs waving cash inside Lok Sabha claiming there were attempts to bribe them. The whole Central Hall was abuzz with talks that day about how the money came inside the House. The discussion was about whether there would be a vote.

If the vote is not taken, then there is a deadlock because the confidence motion has either to be approved or rejected on the deadline. There were many who wanted the government to continue and many others who wanted it to go. There were some others who wanted the process to be completed to uphold Parliamentary procedures irrespective of the outcome. How could the deadlock be broken? As the issue could not be resolved on the floor of Lok Sabha, the negotiations moved to the Central Hall. Some of us were part of the discussions. At that time, non-MPs like N Chandrababu Naidu were also present. All contributed and finally, the vote took place.

In a lighter vein, I would say that the smoking zone in the Central Hall also contributed to solutions on some occasions. The smoking zone saw non-smokers also come in to thrash out solutions. You may sometimes see two-three crucial leaders vanish into this room, they may not be smoking but finding a solution.

To me, the Central Hall is not just integral but crucial in a situation of crisis. You require a place to find solutions for every knotty situation. That is why I find it absolutely impermissible that when I hear that there will be no Central Hall in the new Parliament building. It deprives the space that is required to make democracy functional. I think Parliament will be that much more inferior in terms of its functioning if there is no such space.

But post-2014, there has been a change in the atmosphere. Apprehension arose among MPs that they are being watched, particularly talking to people in the Opposition. The bonhomie that was there pre-2014 has somehow slowly been eroded. Now it has reached a stage that is unfortunate.

When in Central Hall, suddenly you see an MP bringing food from home and feeding everybody around. Or an MP ordering some dish for fellow lawmakers. You could have that sort of an atmosphere. That is very crucial for the health of Parliamentary democracy. I cannot conceive of an Indian Parliament without the Central Hall. Call it by any name but you need such a space.

Tailpiece: I was curious to see fans upside down. I was told that it was designed to work as exhaust fans because a lot of body heat is generated when fully occupied. Science tells you that hot air moves upwards. If you pull up the hot air, you speed up the process of hot air going up and the colder air coming down.

(The writer is CPM general secretary and was Rajya Sabha MP between 2005 and 2017)

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(Published 20 August 2022, 19:08 IST)

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