The Central Hall of Parliament House in New Delhi was used formally once a year, for the President’s address. On other days it belonged to the members. “Lawmakers mainly unwind and interact with each other in the Central Hall,” the Asian Age wrote in 2020. Journalists wanted entry because the hall gave them close access to many lawmakers under one roof.
Open Magazine called it “the nation’s hall of gossip.” By an unwritten rule, private conversations held there were not made public.