Amid "Mic Muted" Rows, New Parliament Has "Automated System": Sources

Switch to an "automated system" comes amid festering allegations the government stops opposition MPs' from speaking their piece by shutting their microphones.

The new Parliament - into which India's lawmakers will shift Tuesday - 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, sources told NDTV Monday afternoon. Other features include a biometric security system and a smaller Well to reduce scope for opposition lawmakers' protests, sources said.

The new Parliament will also be "paperless" - every MP will be given a tablet computer and there will also be stricter entry norms for journalists. The building also has six gates - named after (some real, some mythological) creatures, including the elephant and Garuda, the eagle that is Vishnu's mount.

The switch to an "automated system" comes amid festering allegations the government stops opposition MPs' from speaking their piece by shutting their microphones; these claims were most recently made last month, in Parliament's previous session, when the opposition was demanding a parliamentary probe into the Hindenburg report alleging financial wrongdoing by the Adani Group.