Elevated podium of presiding officers in new house dampener for those who protest

Holding placards in front of the chair and throwing papers towards it to register protest during the live telecast of Parliament sessions may not be possible in the new Parliament building as the chair of the presiding officers in both chambers has been placed substantially higher compared to the old building.

During Parliament sessions, it has been customary for the opposition to protest by trooping to the well and hold placards in front of the presiding officers to catch the eye of the camera during the live telecast of the session. But this could be a thing of the past in the new building as the height of the chair in both chambers from the well is quite high.

The well, where officials from both secretariats sit, and members come to protest, is also around a foot below the first row of the chambers of both houses.


Many believe that this may reduce disruptions and frequent adjournments of both houses of Parliament.

Besides this, the number of cameras placed in the new building have a wider view and are almost double in number compared to the old building, to provide more options to the operators in the control room.

On several occasions, the broadcast of the Parliament sessions has been questioned by opposition members, as they have alleged that Lok Sabha TV (now Sansad TV) broadcast only showed the Speaker and does not focus on their protests.

Meanwhile, the new Parliament building, which will be inaugurated on May 28, is likely to have several granite statues, including those of Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and Chanakya.

Sources also said the possibility of giving the new building a name can also not be ruled out.

According to the 1994 guidelines to telecast Lok Sabha proceedings, cameras were not to focus on any interruption, protests or walkouts. However, these were revised in May 2005 by the then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee who felt that the telecast should also show scenes of protest and walkouts.