‘Paper leak outside, water leak inside’: Oppn takes dig at govt over ‘leak’ in Parl building

NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders took a swipe at the BJP-led NDA government on Thursday over “water leakage” in a lobby of the new Parliament building and praised the “sturdy” old Parliament building.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore posted a video on microblogging site X that showed water leaking from the roof in a lobby of the new Parliament building, with a bucket placed to collect it. He also submitted a notice for moving an adjournment motion to discuss the issue in the Lok Sabha.

Sharing the video, Tagore said on X: “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.”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the government over the issue.

“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 problem is resolved in the (new) Parliament building built with billions of rupees,” he said in a post on X and shared the video of the leakage.

“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....,” Yadav said, taking a swipe at the Centre.

In a post on X, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said: “New Parliament lobby is leaking water. Given the building is a monstrous edifice to Narendra Modi’s ego it is only fitting that it has got shaky post-2024 Lok Sabha results. Bharat Mandapam leaks another case in point.”

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said the new Parliament building has no porch and steep precipitous steps, and 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,” she said on X.

Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain claimed that the condition of the Capital worsened after a few hours of rain.

“From the Parliament to the roads, everything is flooded. The old Parliament building, built 100 years ago, never faced any leakage, but the new Parliament, built just a year ago, has started leaking,” he said on X.

Reacting to reports about leakage in the lobby of the new building, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that keeping in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the building, including in the Lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilised in the day-to-day work of the Parliament.

“During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby. The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed. Similarly, accumulated water opposite Makar Dwar also got drained quickly,” the LS Secretariat said.