Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairman Sasmit Patra suggests gradual shift to new Parliament building

The new parliament building in the national capital

India should test the capacity of the new Parliament building and make a gradual shift in proceedings to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses, Sasmit Patra, Vice-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, told Moneycontrol.

Parliament comprises not just the legislators but also the Secretariats of the Houses as well as the wider infrastructure that is needed for seamless proceedings.

“Therefore, I would rather say, let’s do a few dress rehearsals in a way if we can,” Patra, who is also Biju Janata Dal’s whip in the Upper House, told Moneycontrol in an interview. “Or you move one of the Houses there and let it function and then you move the other house.”

India inaugurated its new, modern Parliament last month. While there was controversy over the inauguration with several political parties skipping the event, the process of building a new Parliament had been decades in the making.

Spread over 64,500 square metres, the new Parliament house is a triangular four-storeyed building equipped with state-of-the-art technology. It can seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber and 300 in the Rajya Sabha. This is a much-needed upgrade from the older, colonial-era structure, which was falling short.

Patra said that the decision on whether the Monsoon Session would be held in the new Parliament building had yet to be taken but the government was clear about not moving the sessions to the new building unless it was 100 percent sure about its readiness.

A member of the Rajya Sabha since 2019, Patra is currently in his second consecutive term in the Upper House of Parliament. He holds a PhD in business management and is also a practising lawyer at the Supreme Court of India.

He recently appeared in the same-sex marriage case before a constitution bench of the Supreme Court and argued that Parliament should take a call on granting legal sanction to same-sex marriage.

Patra has time and again spoken about how parliamentarians need to re-evaluate and rediscover their role in law-making.

He is hopeful of a smooth shift to the new house. “Initially, teething problems will be there. Initially, members of parliament will say, ‘Okay, this is something I needed,’ or ‘in the earlier house I could do this, now I can't do this fast enough’. But that will always be there. A person has to move in,” he said.