Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new seat of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on Sunday (May 28th) in a ceremony boycotted by the main opposition parties.

The new hexagonal edifice is one of the major projects implemented by Narendra Modi to reshape the capital of India and eliminate the vestiges of British rule. It adjoins the one built in colonial times by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, whom it will now replace.

"India is not only a democratic nation, it is also the mother of democracy," Modi said at the ceremony, which was preceded by a multi-faith prayer.

The inauguration of the new building took place on the birthday of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a Hindu ideologue who was the mentor of Godse, the assassin of the country's independence hero, Mahatma Gandhi.

Boycott of the 19 opposition parties

This meeting was boycotted by nineteen opposition parties, which regret that the project was instrumentalized for partisan purposes, with Narendra Modi who presided over the inauguration of the new building, rather than the head of state, Droupadi Murmu. It is a "direct attack on our democracy," they wrote in a statement.

Narendra Modi "has relentlessly emptied Parliament of its substance", with opposition MPs "disqualified, suspended and silenced" and laws passed "almost without debate", the document adds.

In addition, opponents accuse Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of stifling debate in parliament, deploying tax raids, federal investigations and legal actions to weaken key opposition figures.

India's parliament experienced disruptions in February following the government's blocking of requests from the opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for an investigation into possible links between the prime minister and tycoon Gautam Adani, whose conglomerate has been accused of fraud.

See also In India, Rahul Gandhi's long march tries to revive the Congress Party

"The prime minister considers the inauguration of parliament a crowning achievement," Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Sunday.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Indian police arrested several wrestlers, including Olympic medalists, as well as dozens of their supporters. The latter were trying to go to Parliament to protest against the president of their federation whom they accuse of sexual harassment and intimidation practices, noted an AFP journalist on the spot.

With AFP

The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app