Politics
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Tharoor calls new Parliament a soulless conference centre
New Indian Express··21 Aug
On 20 August 2026, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told a New Delhi book event that the new Parliament building feels like a soulless conference centre. The four-time Thiruvananthapuram MP said high ceilings and a fan-shaped layout created distance among members, unlike the coziness of the old circular chambers that had encouraged conversation and informal exchange.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you watch Parliament on television, Tharoor's point is about what happens off camera: fewer chance meetings in a Central Hall, more distance in a fan-shaped chamber.
- Anyone following delimitation can note he flagged a possible Lok Sabha of about 850 seats as a risk to each MP's speaking time.
- If you work in the press gallery, he named journalists among those who lost an informal mixing space when Central Hall was not rebuilt in the new complex.
What's Happening
- The remarks were made at a book-related event in New Delhi, not as a motion on the floor of the House.
- Tharoor described the old rooms as encouraging exchange and the new layout as a metaphor for polarised politics.
- He acknowledged better physical access to seats while arguing the design does not encourage conversation.
What Changed When The New House Opened
- The new Parliament opened in 2023 so the legislature could sit in a larger complex while the 1927 building is conserved. Regular sittings moved out of the old circular chambers.
- Central Hall in the old complex was a shared waiting and talking space. The new building's public description emphasises chamber capacity and offices more than that kind of hall.
- A larger Lok Sabha after delimitation would need more seats. Tharoor's warning is that more members without more debate time can turn many MPs into a clapping gallery.
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