Former Union minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s obsession with the Central Vista plan to the craving of authoritarian leaders for their own architectural legacy.

Responding to the government’s rigidity in going ahead with the plan, under which a new Parliament building is to be built, Ramesh tweeted: “It is not just insensitive, but obscene to be thinking of the New Central Vista project now. It should be put on hold indefinitely. There are more pressing uses for the thousands of crores of rupees that will be spent to satisfy one man’s ego.”

Asked why he was saying that the project was envisaged to satisfy one man’s ego, Ramesh told The Telegraph: “Because it is only about one man’s ego. It is Narendra Modi’s idea; none else. Only Modi. It is not needed. Every dictator wants to leave behind an architectural legacy. History tells us that every authoritarian leader was obsessed with creating new buildings.”

Ramesh added: “The last man who wanted to create a new capital was Adolf Hitler. He was destroying Berlin to build a new capital. The point is why Modi is pushing this project when the country is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The priority should be to save lives. This project will cost Rs 50,000 crore. That is a huge amount which should be utilised for pressing needs, emergencies like coronavirus and the economic distress triggered by this pandemic.”

Hitler dreamt of a world capital “Germania” by rebuilding Berlin and passionately worked on the project with the architect Albert Speer. The construction of a huge Volkshalle (People’s Hall) was also part of the plan.

The reconstruction of Berlin was in a way linked to the holocaust as Hitler ordered the forces to round up able-bodied men from all over to work on the project. Unimaginable torture of these men followed and those who fell sick were killed off like mosquitoes in the concentration camps.

This project, however, could not be completed between 1938 and 1945 when Hitler died after losing World War II. That the totalitarian regimes loved creating new architectures has been widely debated in the past but the

Congress leader’s decision to put the Modi government in the same bracket is bound to create an unseemly controversy.

In Italy, under the fascist Benito Mussolini, some of Europe’s most iconic buildings and monuments were constructed. Romania’s gigantic

Peoples Palace is another example — President Nicolae Ceausescu spent an obscene amount on his dream project.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury also asked the Modi government to scrap the Central Vista project.

Yechury tweeted: “Unconscionable that the central Government finds it necessary to spend Rs 20,000 crore at this precise moment for a new house for the Prime Minister and other beautification schemes. Central Vista plan must be scrapped, earmarked funds must be transferred to tackle Covid-19 and its impact on the poor.”

The government had last week notified the land-use change of over 86 acres in Lutyens Delhi that currently houses some of the country’s landmark buildings such as Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, North Block and South Block, among others, to expedite the completion of the Rs 20,000-crore Central Vista redevelopment project. The government plans to complete the project by 2022.

The detailed report on the project was expected to be submitted to the presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament in March, followed by tenders inviting bids for construction but the exercise is going to be delayed by a few weeks owing to the lockdown.

The Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management was selected by the CPWD in October 2019 as its consultant for the project,

The Hindu newspaper has quoted Bimal Patel, director of HCP Design, as saying: “The Covid–19 pandemic is a time of much distress in the world.

Yes, it is disruptive but all (government agencies) are continuing to work in this period of lockdown.… Many calls and video conferencing are ensuring that we continue to work at our best possible pace in these tumultuous times. We hope to not let this disruption effect the final deadlines of the project.”