President Pranab Mukherjee asks lawmakers to uphold Parliament's dignity

The statement from the nation’s constitutional head came in the backdrop of an unseemly squabble between members of the Trinamool Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over a room in Parliament.

“Please, for God’s sake, except you nobody can do it. It is our responsibility, we the elected members of both houses including nominated members, to uphold the prestige, dignity and honour of this great, great institution,” Mukherjee said at the event of giving away awards for the best Parliamentarians.

He said the responsibility lies with every member to uphold its dignity. “You have to do it,” the President said.

Taking reference of the incident when Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowed his head at the stairs of Parliament House when he first entered the building, he said the gesture showed the dignity and sanctity of the temple of democracy.

Earlier, a row sparked off between Trinamool and TDP members over room number 5 located on the ground floor of Parliament House with the latter refusing to vacate the room. The room was allotted for the TDP for many years but it has now been given to Trinamool Congress, the fourth largest political party in the Lok Sabha.