Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said all parliamentarians should welcome the construction of a new Parliament building.

The former Congress leader, however, added that the idea of the construction of a new Parliament building was first mooted during the time of the P V Narasimha Rao government, but was later sent to the cold storage.

“It (the construction of a new Parliament building) is a good thing. It is a good Parliament (house). It was proposed during the Narasimha Rao government but it could not be done. Now that it has been constructed, all parliamentarians should welcome it,” Azad told reporters here.

“I have no opposition to it,” he added.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said people are facing problems due to the absence of a legislative setup in the Union Territory. “Seats of MLAs are vacant. Restoration of this setup can mitigate the problems of the people,” he said.

Azad stressed the need for the restoration of the “old India” based on the idea of communal harmony and brotherhood.

“We also want the restoration of the old Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

On the second day of his visit to Rajouri, Azad expressed concern over the soaring unemployment and price rise and the dwindling economy of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are facing multiple challenges as jobs and land are being taken away from them.

Interacting with the party workers, Azad said if elected to power, the DPAP will not be a mute spectator to the plight of the locals and take all political and legal initiatives to secure their jobs and land rights.

He said certain regions face additional challenges as they are landlocked, adding that these areas were overlooked by successive regimes with no job opportunities and economic growth.

“When I was heading the Jammu and Kashmir government in the erstwhile state, I gave a special focus to the region and tried for its economic uplift. Since then, no one seems to have understood the needs and aspirations of the region,” Azad said.

He said the DPAP will restore the Roshni Act as its revocation has rendered thousands of families landless.

Azad said according to laws, those who possessed land for more than 20 years should have been granted ownership rights but in Jammu and Kashmir, the administration took anti-people measures and snatched their land instead.