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India is getting a new parliament building as Modi revamps the capital’s hub


NEW DELHI, INDIA – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday inaugurate a new parliament complex, the centerpiece of a $2.4 billion project that aims to transform the British colonial-era buildings in the heart of the capital and give it a vibrant Indian identity.

The inauguration and ongoing renovation 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 highlight its strong Hindu nationalist credentials, apart from its performance in office over the past decade run for a third term.

The Modi government has also renovated some of Hinduism’s most revered pilgrimage centers since first coming to power in 2014.

The new triangular-shaped Parliament complex is just opposite the heritage building, built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence.

The old parliament will be turned into a museum, the government said.

FILE – India’s Parliament building is seen in a puddle after rain as a man sweeps up water in New Delhi, India, July 20, 2018.

It said a new parliament building was urgently needed as the existing structure was “under great stress” for a number of reasons, including capacity, infrastructure, technology and security.

The new building, Modi said when he began its construction in December 2020 amid the pandemic, would “witness the creation of an independent India,” highlighting another pet theme.

In addition to modern technology, the new parliament has a total of 1,272 seats in two chambers, almost 500 more than the old building, and at least three times as many seats.

It has four floors and halls themed after the national symbols of the peacock, lotus and banyan tree, as well as murals, sculptures and art from across the country that reflect 5,000 years of Indian civilization, said an architect directly involved in the project.

But Modi’s critics see the new parliament, designed by an architect from his home state of Gujarat, as an attempt to cement his nationalism as part of his personal legacy.

Opposition parties announced a boycott of the inauguration. The president, the country’s top executive, should open the new parliament, not Modi, the opposition said.

The presidential administration declined to comment. A representative of Modi’s office said that the Prime Minister respects the constitutional head of the country.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest petition seeking the court to compel the President to inaugurate the building instead of Modi.

The overall renovation includes a new parliament, the construction of several government buildings along the India Gate lawns in the center of the city, and new residences for the vice president and prime minister.

The plan has drawn objections from conservationists and urban planners who say it will destroy the character of the city.

“The decision to build a new Parliament building was sudden and there was a lack of transparency, honesty and frugality in the whole process,” said AG Krishna Menon, an architect and conservation consultant.

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