'Govt must deploy all resources to save lives'

New Delhi Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday slammed the government over Central Vista project, saying that people are struggling for hospital beds and scarcity of oxygen and it would be better if the government deploys all resources in saving lives instead of building a new house for the prime minister. "When people of the country are struggling for oxygen, vaccine, hospital beds and medicines then it would be better if the government put all the resources in saving lives of people, instead of constructing a new house for the Prime Minister worth Rs 13,000 crore. With such expenses a message goes to public that the government's priorities are something else," Priyanka Gandhi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, said in a tweet in Hindi.

Her remarks came a day after reports that the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has informed a government-appointed expert panel that the construction of the Prime Minister's residence under the ambitious Central Vista project will be completed by December 2022. The CPWD, which is the project developer, informed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that the expansion of the Parliament building and the construction of a new Parliament building will be done by November 2022 and the Prime Minister's residence will be constructed by December 2022. The Ministry of Environment has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs 13,450 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

The Congress and the several opposition parties have questioned the need of the new Parliament building and have demanded that all resources should be put to fight Covid-19 pandemic.