Central Vista: Hardeep Puri trashes 60 ex-civil servants’ letter

There is an element of mischief and wishful thinking, he says

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said the expressing concern over the Central Vista project were a disgrace to the country. The letter was not based on facts and some of them needed to have their head examined before signing it, he stated at a press conference. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Urban Development Minister, said: “This project began, if reports are to be believed, because of a superstitious belief that the present Parliament building is ‘unlucky’, as well as with the thought of leaving a particular government and its leader’s impression on the architecture of Delhi...” Terming them educated fools, Mr. Puri said any civil servant with about 40 years of experience would not rely on reports that needed to be “believed”. Without naming one signatory, he said the retired official was Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India when the plan to have a new Parliament building started taking shape in 2012.