Assembly interiors reset as per vastu to ward off ‘bad omens’

Jaipur: Speaker Vasudev Devnani informed the House that Vastu experts were consulted to remove perceived bad omens from the assembly building, leading to certain changes. While he did not disclose the modifications, officials confirmed that interior alterations were made over the past few months based on Vastu Shastra principles.
On a lighter note, Devnani quipped that the assembly now looked complete with all 200 members present, playfully suggesting that the current legislators should continue in the House for the next four years.
Some lawmakers believed that the Assembly had rarely maintained a full strength of 200 members for long, citing resignations, untimely deaths, or legal troubles. During the 16th legislative session, BJP MLA Amrit Meena (Salumber) and Congress MLA Zubair Khan (Ramgarh) passed away in Aug and Sept 2024, respectively, due to illness.
The new assembly building, which spans 16.96 acres near Lalkothi, was constructed between 1994 and 2001. Considered one of India's most modern legislative structures, it has a seating capacity of 260 members. "The land was historically part of a cremation ground, and concerns about bad omens have persisted since its inauguration in 2001," said Sanskrit scholar Shastri Koslendra Das.
He recalled that then-President K.R. Narayanan was scheduled to inaugurate the building on Feb 25, 2001, but fell ill, preventing his attendance. As a result, the assembly began functioning without a formal inauguration.