YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy suggests seasonal move of Parliament to south India

YSRCP MP proposes holding Parliament sessions in south India to improve efficiency and inclusivity, echoing past discussions on decentralisation.

The aim of decentralisation of law-making, as well as Delhi’s challenging climate and air quality, has driven the YSRCP MP from Tirupati, Maddila Gurumoorthy, to write to the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, proposing that some sessions of Parliament be held in south India, particularly in summer and winter.

“The climate in Delhi during these seasons impact the daily functioning of Parliament. The harsh winter chills and scorching summer heat makes it increasingly difficult for members of Parliament and Parliament officials to work efficiently, not to mention the detrimental effect on the overall quality of life in the city,” Mr. Gurumoorthy wrote. “We believe that conducting sessions in Southern India would bring Parliament closer to the people of the region, thereby fostering a greater sense of inclusion.....additionally it would serve as a symbolic gesture of national unity and decentralisation, showing that the Parliament is truly a body that represents the entire country, not just its capital city,” he added.

Mr. Gurumoorthy bolstered his request by stating that the idea had been discussed before, including by the late Constitution framer B.R. Ambedkar, in his book Thoughts on Linguistic States, and the late former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. A private members Bill on the subject was brought in by independent MP Prakash Vir Shastri in 1968.

Some States have summer and winter capitals, with the Legislature shifting, including in Maharashtra (Mumbai and Nagpur) and Karnataka (Bengaluru and Belagavi), whereas in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the annual ‘durbar move’ from Srinagar to Jammu in the summer has been discontinued.