New Building Of The Parliament Has 'Automated System' Amid Mic-Muted Row

The new building of the Parliament includes wide range of modern features including "automated system" designed to automatically switch off an MP's microphone on the completion of their allotted time.

A source was quoted saying to NDTV, "The new Parliament - into which India's lawmakers will shift tomorrow - boasts a number of features, including an "automated system" to switch off a MP's microphone at the end of time allotted for their speech."

The move came after the opposition parties have accused that the Centre interfered their speeches during sessions, especially discussing issues such as the Hindenburg report's allegations of financial impropriety by the Adani Group.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged that the government of "insulting" him by switching odd the mic. However, the Centre led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied the accusations by citing it as a "technical fault".

However, Congress had earlier posted a video that showed the microphone was turned off for nearly 20 minutes and started working only when House Speaker MP Birla urged the MPs to maintain the decorum of the House.

The Congress has further claimed that the Centre has decided not to allow Rahul Gandhi to speak in the Parliament until he seeks for an apology for his comments in London.

Earlier in March, Gandhi in London allegedly claimed that the microphones were often shut when opposition leaders stood up to speak. "Our mikes are not out of order... they are functioning but you still can't switch them on. That has happened to me a number of times."

Previously, microphones were attached to the desks of every Member of the Parliament. There was a chamber in both Houses of Parliament where sound technicians used to sit.

The chamber has an electronic board with all the seat numbers. The microphones were controlled by the sound technicians as per the instruction of the Speaker of the House.

Apart from "automated microphones", the new building of the Parliament includes biometric security system and a smaller Well to reduce scope for opposition lawmakers' protests. Besides, every MP will be provided with a tablet computer.

The five-day special session of Parliament was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. PM Modi addressed a few topics in his 51-minute speech. He spoke about the success of the G20 summit and the Chandrayaan-3 Moon mission.

The Parliament will shift to the new building after the lunch break on Tuesday.