Opposition targets Centre over roof leak in Parliament, seeks discussion

Image of a plastic bucket in new Parliament building’s lobby to catch drips from a leak in the roof triggered an Opposition attack against the government

The stark image of a blue plastic bucket placed in the new Parliament building’s lobby to catch the drips from a leak in the roof triggered an Opposition attack against the government on Thursday, with the Congress moving an adjournment motion to discuss the matter.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat, however, said that there had only been “minor leakage” as “the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the lobby of the building was slightly displaced” due to the heavy rains that lashed the national capital on Wednesday evening. Massive water logging was also seen in and around the Parliament complex.

The new Parliament building, built at an estimated cost of ₹971 crore, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a little over a year ago on May 28, 2023.

Posting a video on X, showing the leaky dome and the bucket placed on the wet floors of the lobby, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion.” He later submitted a notice for moving an adjournment motion to discuss the matter in the Lok Sabha.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also took a swipe at the new building on his X account. “The old Parliament was better than this new Parliament as there even former MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old Parliament building, at least till the time the water leakage programme is going on in the [new] Parliament building built with billions of rupees,” he posted, also sharing a video of the leak. “People are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well-thought out design or...” he said.

Trinamool Congress MPs also slammed the design of the new building. “The new Parliament building has no porch and steep precipitous steps. Last night when there was a cloudburst in Delhi, it was the sturdy old Parliament building which came to our rescue - sheltering us under its thoughtfully designed porch and providing some dry ground. The new building built hurriedly and without shelter, failed, while the old one stood firm,” Lok Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose posted on X.

Her TMC colleague in the Lok Sabha, Mahua Moitra, termed the building “a monstrous edifice to @narendramodi‘s ego” and said “it is only fitting that it has got shaky post 2024 Lok Sabha results”.