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Debate erupts over claims of british era 'Hanging house'

Debate erupts over claims of british era 'Hanging house'

Time of Indiaa day ago
New Delhi: An intense debate erupted on the second day of the monsoon session of Delhi Assembly over Aam Aadmi Party's claims that a section of the legislative house complex was a British-era gallows and contained a secret tunnel.
Speaker Vijender Gupta described these contentions as a distortion of history, while minister Parvesh Verma claimed that the opposition legislators were propagating "lies".
In 2021, then Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said that a 'hanging house' was discovered on the assembly premises after a tunnel was discovered in 2016. The subterranean structure's mouth lies just below the floor of the assembly hall in the iconic building, once the Old Secretariat constructed in 1912 by the British after the imperial capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
On Tuesday, MLA Abhay Verma proposed a condemnation resolution against the "distortion of history" by the previous govt. Verma claimed, "This place was an elevator but Arvind Kejriwal completely distorted a significant history." He added, "The photos, maps and documents we have prove that there were no gallows here. There was only an elevator used to move goods up and down. We will remove the gallows and present the room in its true reality.
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"AAP had renovated the "said" gallows room.
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While Gupta accused the earlier govt of attempting to change the history of the assembly, BJP legislator Ajay Mahawar claimed that the "misdeeds of the previous govt are coming to light one by one".
AAP MLA Jarnail Singh countered, "Search for gallows in Delhi Assembly on ChatGPT and you will get all the information. You are only trying to hide the misdeeds of the British govt."
To this, BJP legislator Sanjay Goyal responded that AAP ran the state govt like ChatGPT for years.
Deputy speaker Mohan Singh Bisht weighed in on the debate by saying the assembly was a heritage and its history shouldn't be tampered with.
Eventually, Gupta declared. "Upon consulting historians on the matter, it has been clarified that no such tunnel exists. What is being referred to is, in fact, ducting space created for ventilation.
At the time, resources were limited, and whenever such buildings were constructed underground, space was left for ventilation ducts. This is not unique to this building; similar provisions exist in the old Parliament House too.
"
Gupta added, "The truth is that no gallows ever existed there, nor does one exist today. The room in question is, in fact, a tiffin room. The wooden lift within it, meant for carrying food and other items, has been incorrectly described as a gallows and trapdoor."
The semi-circular, white building on Sham Nath Marg that houses Delhi Assembly was once the seat of British India. The building housed both the central legislative council (today's Parliament) and a temporary central secretariat when the capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in Dec 1911.
Soon after the 1911 Delhi Durbar, during which King George V made the announcement on the shift of the capital, viceroy Lord Hardinge shifted base from Calcutta and set up a temporary capital in north Delhi's Civil Lines. The assembly building served as the temporary secretariat of the govt of India for a decade while New Delhi was being built. After Parliament House was inaugurated in 1927, it continued to be used for various purposes, including hosting the Delhi Metropolitan Council (1966-1990), before becoming the seat of the Delhi Legislative Assembly in 1993.
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