Surrounded by priests, Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new seat of India’s Parliament in New Delhi on Sunday in a ceremony rich in religious symbolism but boycotted by the main opposition parties.

The new hexagonal building is one of the major projects implemented by Mr Modi to reshape the Indian capital and wipe out the remnants of British rule.

It is adjacent to one built in the colonial era by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which is now due to be replaced.

“India is not only a democracy, but also the mother of democracy”Mr Modi said at the ceremony. “It’s not just a building… it’s a shrine to democracy that carries a message to the world about India’s resolve.”

The inauguration was preceded by a joint prayer. Mr Modi, accompanied by a Hindu priest, then installed a Tamil scepter in the building. He was welcomed into the room to a standing ovation from pro-government lawmakers Modi Modi.

Many of Mr Modi’s supporters and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) support Hindu hegemony over the world’s most populous nation (1.4 billion people) with a diversity of faiths and endowed with a secular Constitution.

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.

The meeting was boycotted by nineteen opposition parties, denouncing its instrumentation for partisan purposes and the fact that Mr. Modi is not the head of state, Droupadi Murmu.

This is about “a direct attack on our democracy”they wrote in a press release.

“Coronation”

Mr Modi “relentlessly emptying Parliament of its substance”with opposition MPs “disqualified, suspended and silenced” and the law passed “almost without debate”they added.

Moreover, opponents accuse the BJP of stifling parliamentary debate and deploying tax raids, federal investigations or lawsuits to weaken the opposition.

India’s parliament notably suffered session disruption in February after the government blocked requests from opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to investigate possible links between Mr. Modi and tycoon Gautam Adani. His conglomerate has been accused of fraud and denies the accusations.

The following month, Rahul Gandhi was barred from entering the Indian parliament after being sentenced to two years in prison for defamation following statements made during the 2019 election campaign.

“The Prime Minister regards the inauguration of Parliament as a crowning achievement”Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Sunday.