Modi opponents boycott opening of new parliament building as PM reshapes India’s power corridor

By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s major opposition parties have boycotted the inauguration of a new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the ceremony sidelined President Droupadi Murmu, who is the head of state and highest constitutional authority. Modi inaugurated the new parliament building Sunday, and his supporters see it as his attempt to remake India’s power corridor and disrupt the country’s colonial legacy. But the prime minister’s critics have called it environmentally irresponsible, a threat to cultural heritage and too expensive. The new triangular-shaped building, built at an estimated cost of $120 million, will replace the old house of parliament, a circular structure designed by British architects in the early 20th century.