The optics of the event were clear. Marked by the conspicuous absence of constitutional, although titular, heads of the Indian state – President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, both of whom only sent their congratulatory messages that were read by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh – the event saw Modi leading the way in each ceremonial act, be it the installation of the Sengol or getting seated at the centre of the high table, or even getting the final say.

“This is not merely a building. The new Parliament is a reflection of the aspirations and dreams of 140 crore people. It is a temple of our democracy. It showcases India’s determination and willpower to the world,” Modi said in his speech.

The prime minister chose the occasion to draw a parallel between the new Parliament building and India’s “new direction, new goals and a new vision” under his leadership, and claimed that the people’s aspirations that are reflected in the new Sansad Bhawan will help the nation become “developed” in another 25 years, “atmanirbhar (self-dependent)” and set new records in the future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the new parliament building. Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi

The prime minister particularly emphasised that a new Parliament was a mirror image of a “new India” that prided itself in learning from traditional values while still emulating a modern vision.

Modi said that there was a time in early India when during the regimes of the Mauryas and Cholas, foreign travellers used to be mesmerised by Indian innovations but “hundreds of years of slavery seized that pride” from India. He invoked democratic structures of early India like Ganas and Sanghas to claim that India is the “mother of democracies”, and that democracy for Indians was not only “a system” but “a tradition, a belief”.

The prime minister’s parallels, however, were more deliberate than accidental. He said that every country has historical moments where its consciousness takes a new direction, and that India’s spirit had taken a new turn after Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement in 1920. That new drive to grow out of years-long slavery, he said, eventually culminated in the Indian independence from the British in 1947. Modi said the new Parliament building marked a similar turn in India’s consciousness that will result in it becoming a “developed” nation in the next 25 years.

“I had said earlier too, from the Red Fort on the Independence Day, that “yehi samay hai, sahi samay hai (This is the time, and this is the right time).”

“Safalta ki pahli sharth safal hone ka vishwaas hi hota hai (The first condition for success is to believe that you can be successful),” Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the new parliament building. Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi

As he finished his speech, Modi recorded once again his claims about his government’s achievements, while emphasising that his government is committed to the poor and so is the new Parliament building.

“If I am proud of the new parliament, then I am also satisfied that I could deliver more than four crore houses to the poor. If I am proud of the new parliament today, then I am also satisfied that more than 11 crore toilets were built for women in the last nine years,” the prime minister said, adding that villages have become accessible through more than four lakh kilometres of roads that were constructed in the last nine years.

His emphasis on the poor towards the end of his speech appeared to be a divergence from the picture of a glorious Indian past painted by the prime minister earlier on. Similarly, the thirst for a “new India” powered by cultural nationalism, business and technological advancements that Modi spoke of stood in stark contrast to the other reality of India, where crores of people still need shelter and basic amenities. It may have been unintentional, but in one speech, the prime minister laid out the alarming differences between the imagined global aspirations of Indian people, and conditions in which they continue to live even today. The new parliament building equipped with the latest technology doesn’t mirror that wide gap, or devolve power to the poor and unprivileged.

The inauguration ceremony was meant to be Modi’s show. It turned out to be exactly that, and more, given the way the prime minister intended to cement his cult politics further. He failed to build consensus among the opposition parties, 21 of whom boycotted the event. Despite speaking highly about great democratic traditions of India, he bypassed the constitutional authority of the President of India, and positioned himself as a benevolent monarchical figure. In hogging all the attention, Modi appeared to have set some new undemocratic and majoritarian standards.