New Parliament A '5-Star Jail', Will Go Back To Old: Sanjay Raut Makes Shocking Claim Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls

Uddhav faction leader Sanjay Raut said when their government comes to power in the Centre, they will go back to the old Parliament. The Uddhav faction of the Shiv Sena is in alliance with the Congress party and is part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Raut described the new Parliament as a 'five-star jail'.

TN National Desk

Updated Feb 29, 2024, 11:13 IST

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut (File image)

Photo : PTI

When our government comes to power, we will start the session in the old Parliament, said Uddhav Thackeray faction Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday, February 29. The sensational claim comes months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at a press conference, Raut, a member of the Upper House of Parliament, described the new Parliament block as a 'five-star jail'.

"The new Parliament is like a five-star jail, where you can't sit, you can't work. When our government comes to power, we will start the session in the historic old Parliament," Raut said while speaking to reporters.

India, the world's largest democracy, inaugurated its new Parliament in May last year. The first session of the House took place in September. India shifted its Parliament after years of deliberation on concerns about the integrity of the old structure and the need for more space to accommodate more members of Parliament after the next Census is conducted.

The Indian Parliament currently has 545 MPs, Lok Sabha (lower House) and Rajya Sabha (upper House) combined. This number is based on the Census carried out in 2011, nearly 13 years ago. At the time, India was the second-most populous country in the world.

Since then, the number of Indians has grown even as countries across the world, including China, saw dips in the rates of growth in their populations. According to the United Nations, India is now the most populous country in the world.

In order to provide capacity for members to be seated in both Houses of Parliament, the new Parliament's Lok Sabha had made space for 888 members and the new Parliament's Rajya Sabha has made space for 384 members. The Lok Sabha in the new Parliament can accommodate up to 1,272 members in case of joint sessions.

Raut, while making the claim before reporters, made no mention of how while going back to the old Parliament will accommodate new members after a Census takes place.

Asked by reporters what he thought of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that the BJP-led NDA combine will win 400 out of 545 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Raut mockingly said, "They should say 600," in a bid to make the BJP's claim sound ridiculous.

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