NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a new parliament complex on Sunday, the centrepiece of a $2.4 billion project that aims to reconstruct British colonial-era buildings in the capital’s centre and give it a distinct Indian identity.
The inauguration, and the ongoing makeover 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, besides its performance in office over the last decade, to seek a third term.
The Modi government has also similarly renovated some of Hinduism’s most revered pilgrimage centres since first sweeping to power in 2014.
The new, triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence.
|
Labourers work at the under construction site of the new parliament building in New Delhi, India, May 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
The old parliament will be converted into a museum, the government has said.
It has said a new parliament building is badly needed as the existing structure “is highly stressed” for a number of reasons including capacity, infrastructure, technology and safety.
The new building, Modi said when he launched its construction in December 2020 during the pandemic, “would become a witness to the creation of a self-reliant India”, underlining another pet theme.
Besides modern technology, the new parliament has a total of 1,272 seats in two chambers, nearly 500 more than the old building, and at least three times as much space.
It features four storeys and halls themed according to the national symbols of the peacock, lotus and banyan tree, and murals, sculptures and art from across the country capturing 5,000 years of Indian civilisation, said an architect directly involved in the project.
|
An auto rickshaw drives pasts in front of the under construction site of the new parliament building in New Delhi, India, May 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
Labourers work at the under construction site of the new parliament building in New Delhi, India, May 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
- India launches 'Modicare,' the world's biggest government health program
- India Now Boasts The World's Tallest Statue, And It's Twice Lady Liberty's Size
- India’s Biometric Database Is Creating A Perfect Surveillance State — And U.S. Tech Companies Are On Board
- Lane One-on-One: Remaking a Company, Region or State Takes Unity, Clear Goals, Then the Plan
- Himalaya Capital Exchange ICO kicks off Asia Roadshow in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore Sep 2018
- We Keep Getting Richer But Unhappier
- Projecting Political Messages on Buildings Is This Group’s Genius Form of Activism
- Bold Action is Needed by Boards of Directors as Corporate Wealth Becomes Increasingly Concentrated, Says New Book
- Mike Harrington: It's a new look and new way of life for Robin Lehner
- Deadly political calculations: Why India isn't fixing its toxic smog problem
- Why India's Modi wants to increase control over the central bank
- Behind Sri Lanka's turmoil, a China-India struggle for investments and influence
- India’s Rohingya refugees struggle with hatred, fear as first group is expelled
- As BJP States Follow Centre in Cutting Fuel Prices, Kerala Refuses
- India’s GDP grows at 8.2%, cements its position as fastest growing economy
- Sri Lanka's new PM faces bribery accusations
- Sebastian Kurz is Remaking Europe's Future From its Darkest Past
- New generation of Russians leading protests against president
- Trump, Skripal, India: Your Thursday News Briefing
- India, US seal defence pact
India gets new parliament building as Modi remakes capital's centre have 555 words, post on tuoitrenews.vn at May 26, 2023. This is cached page on Talk Vietnam. If you want remove this page, please contact us.