New Delhi gets a makeover
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new parliament building on Sunday, a modern complex which is part of his Hindu nationalist government’s plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital.
The inauguration, and the ongoing revamp of the heart of New Delhi based on Indian culture, traditions and symbols, comes a year before parliamentary elections in which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will pitch its strong Hindu nationalist credentials, and its performance in office over the past decade, to seek a third term.
Early in the morning, Modi held traditional prayers outside the complex in a ceremony that was also attended by top cabinet ministers. He then lit a traditional lamp inside parliament.
Later, the prime minister entered parliament to loud cheers from guests, government officials and legislators, with many welcoming him with chant of “Modi, Modi”.
“This new complex evidence of self-reliant India, will” he be said in an address.
The event was boycotted by 20 opposition parties who said Modi had violated protocol to inaugurate the new complex and grab the spotlight when it should have been done by the president, the highest executive of the country.
“To open a new parliament building without the opposition, it does not mean there is a democracy in the country.
“It’s an incomplete event,” Supriya Sule, an opposition leader, told news agency ANI.
During the inauguration ceremony, a parliament official read out a note written by President Droupadi Murmu in which she welcomed that Modi had inaugurated the complex.
The Modi government has rejected the opposition argument, saying no protocol has been violated and that the prime minister respects the constitutional head of the country.
The new parliament complex is the centrepiece of a $2.4bn project aimed at eclipsing the significance of colonial-era buildings in the capital’s centre, paving the way for modern buildings with a distinct Indian identity.
Besides modern technology, the new parliament has a total of 1,272 seats in two chambers, nearly 500 more than the old building.