The bhumi pujan of the new Parliament building was done recently. It is estimated that this building will cost Rs 971 crore, and in all likelihood, this will escalate as the prices of building materials rise.
In a poor country, whose masses are facing great economic hardships, should so much money be spent on constructing a new Parliament building at such cost?
I remember when I was chief justice of the Madras High Court, a case came before my bench challenging the setting up of a monumental arch to celebrate the birthday of the then chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa. I told the advocate general of Tamil Nadu, who appeared in the case, that India is a poor country, and money should be spent on the people's welfare, not on celebrating birthdays.
When a new lawyers’ chambers was to be inaugurated in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, several High Court judges at Chennai wanted to go to the function (on public expense by flight) and were unhappy with me when I refused, because I felt public money should not be wasted.
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Great leaders like Oliver Cromwell, Robespierre and Lenin lived frugal, austere lives.
When the Indian economy is suffering a downturn, and its people are having massive unemployment and other hardships, I submit there is no justification for constructing a new Parliament building at such heavy cost.
Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK