On 29 August, 2013, the students of classes XI and XII ( Humanities), accompanied by our teachers, Charu ma'am, Pooja ma'am and Sangita ma'am, went on an educational visit to Parliament House.
The day was abuzz with excitement among the students. They couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of their famous representatives, as it were, in person orating in the coveted Lok Sabha.
The bus ride through Central Delhi was an experience in itself. As the students reached Parliament House, they saw scores of reporters from tv channels crawling the place! The policemen held the traffic to enable the students o cross the road and even offered generous smiles- something rather rare in other parts of Delhi! After what felt like a million security checks, we found ourselves seated in the Visitors' Gallery of the Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of parliament. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult franchise. As of 2009, there have been 15 Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India. It has a green carpeted floor to signify the representatives' relationship with the grass-root.
Sitting in the Public Gallery of the Lok Sabha was a real treat. One got an unparalleled view of the assembly. It lent a strange feeling of responsibility that doesn't come when watching the proceedings on television.
The Lok Sabha hall is wood-paneled and adorned with the signs of the princely states in British India. When we looked down from our gallery atop the country's highest forum of debate, we saw nation-builders arguing about what's best for the country.
When we were all seated, we found that the afternoon session had not yet begun, but the room was already filled with action. On one side, we saw members of the opposition huddled together, discussing in hushed voices. On the other side, our home minister, Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde and Deputy Speaker, Shri Jagdimbika Pal had already started an animated discussion amongst themselves. It took at least 5 other MPs to persuade them to go back to their places!
Just as the session was about to start, some members of the Telugu Desam started reiterating the demand for a unified Andhra Pradesh, armed with facts, posters and loud voices. This went on for the entire session. While the opposition members were protesting, some of the ministers started arguing amongst themselves. Meanwhile, we saw 4 to 5 MPs stage a walk-out from the Lok Sabha.
The speaker adjourned the session abruptly and left us utterly confused. The whole procedure was done and over with in about 10 minutes. The gallery attendants quickly ushered us out.
On the way out, some of our students got to talk with Mulayam Singh Yadav. Outside the building, we saw Veerappa Moily being interviewed.
All in all it was a great experience. We would like to thank our School for organizing this trip.
By Ishan Mehandru & Sanchari Banerjee, 12 C
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