By Prem Ansh Sinha

The Aravalli mountain range extends to about 692 km. It originates at Palanpur in Gujarat and extends up to the North of the country. The place where it terminates gets its name from a title given to the brave estate ruler Kalda Rao, who ruled that region in the late-1600s till the mid-1700s. The region is now known as Raisina Hills.

Raisina Hills, New Delhi

In the year 1994, the then Prime Minister of India, Narasimha Rao ji asked the then leader of Opposition, Vajpayee ji to lead the Indian delegation to Geneva. It was the true definition of “One India” where the opposition stood with the country when she needed them the most.

Vajpayee ji once said, “Congress out of power is more dangerous than Congress in power". The country witnessed how the Indian National Congress supported the Anti-Farmer Protests, Anti-CAA protests. The country witnessed how its allies advocated for the restoration of Article 370. Instead of pointing out problems, the current opposition creates problems for the country, and now we are witnessing how instead of supporting the country during these tough times, they are targeting the Government for continuing the Central Vista Project.

The Supreme Court judgment on the Central Vista matter went in the favour of the Government. India needed a new Parliament House. A letter was written to the then Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna on July 13, 2012, by Radhey Shyam, the then Officer on Special Duty (OSD) (to the then Speaker Meira Kumar) asking for a new Parliament House. The letter suggested that the Central Public Works Department should conduct a “survey of the area in the proximity of Parliament House Complex and identify suitable locations/sites for construction of a state-of-the-art new Parliament Building." I am very much sure that the “Modi Wave” hadn’t hit Delhi in 2012. In a 2015 letter, the then Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan wrote that there were “several limitations on structural repairs, additions, alterations, and modifications to the (Parliament House) building." She further added that the Parliament lacked modern facilities and there was no scope for increasing the seating capacity.

Edwin Lutyens

Herbert Baker

Said to be inspired by the Chausath Yogini Temple, the current Parliament House was designed by Herbert Baker and Edwin Lutyens. On a serious note, I’ll have to agree that the design of the new building looks unattractive. Bimal Patel could have done better. Anyway, the opposition criticized the Government for giving the contract to Tata Projects. What the opposition simply ignored was that the Tata Projects won the bid in a close competition where they offered to execute the project for Rs. 861.9 crores, only 3.1 crores less than L&T’s bid of Rs. 865 crores.

Opposition calls this a waste of money and resources. Why do they have so many problems with development? Their version says that they want the Centre to allocate the money(allotted for the Central Vista) to the Vaccination drive funds. The total cost of the Central Vista Project is estimated to be around Rs. 20,000 crore. What the opposition doesn’t realize is that the Government had already allotted Rs. 35,000 crore for the Vaccination drive in the Union Budget. They are not short of money for the vaccines, something that they are failing to understand. It’s like asking your parents to give you Rs. 500 to buy a Rs. 10 kulfi. Congress often forgets that not all governments have the habit to engage in corruption during a crisis.

Why do they want to snatch away the job of a labourer working at the site? Why exactly does the opposition want to stop the Central Vista Project? What comes to my mind is the romanticization of poverty. It’s not new for us to see the “award-winning eminent journalists” posting pictures of underdeveloped regions of India and glorifying those as “heritage”. One Twitter user wanted the project to stop since he won’t be able to revisit his childhood memories related to the India Gate. Another reason might be credit. The credit for implementing this large-scale project will always go to PM Modi and even if the UPA wins the Lok Sabha election, (which seems to be a pipe-dream) they will never be able to erase this legacy of PM Modi.

The proposed design of the redevelopment at Central Vista

Who knows if Congress were in power, we would have seen television debates on if the country needs "Sonia Gandhi Central Vista Project" or will it be right to transfer the “SGCVP” funds to the "Rahul Gandhi Vaccination Fund" which aimed to import vaccines from China before the 2024 Elections. Does Congress really think they’ll be able to project our “Prince Charming” as a PM Candidate in 2024? The State Governments and Modi have failed in this Covid Crisis but I can never imagine the likes of West Bengal Chief Minister, Bahujan Samaj Chief, or the Delhi CM as the PM of India. India needs to produce new leaders. As a popular Quora Writer once wrote, “Until TINA remains the loyal girlfriend of Modi," he’ll keep on winning the elections.

Should we stop the other ongoing projects and transfer their funds to the Corona Relief Funds too? Wouldn’t it affect our long-term vision? Do we need to focus on such petty things during these tough times? Shouldn’t we focus on how to fight “the common enemy” together? Central Vista Project is a hope. It’s a hope for a better future. It’s a hope that things will get better. The completion of the Central Vista Project and Ram Mandir Construction would mark a new beginning in Indian Politics. A beginning that would shape Dr. Kalam’s vision of India 2020. A beginning that would ensure a Bharat “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high". A dawn that would mark the end of an era.

Sources:

1) https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-the-idea-of-new-parliament-is-at-least-7-years-old-heres-the-background-5994860/

2) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-gives-nod-to-central-vista-project/article33498980.ece

3) https://theprint.in/politics/how-congress-leader-salman-khurshid-had-to-pay-a-price-for-a-hug-from-vajpayee/100195/

4) https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/lutyens-and-baker-the-true-story-6037511/

5) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new-delhi-one-of-the-longest-serving-capitals-in-the-world-with-remnants-of-11-capital-cities/articleshow/11075595.cms?from=mdr

6) https://www.orfonline.org/research/why-our-political-parties-romanticise-poverty-47797/

7) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/tata-projects-wins-bid-to-construct-new-parliament-building-officials/articleshow/78148839.cms?from=mdr

8) https://thewire.in/history/friendship-faltered-raisina-hill

9) TINA stands for There Is No Alternative.

Thank you.