Boycott Of New Parliament Building Opening Unites Opposition

The inauguration of India's new parliament may resemble the opening of a Chinese council building with next to nil representation from the opposition, as several parties announced they will not be attending the ceremony on Sunday.

After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress, the Left, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday said they will not be part of the event.

The opposition parties have denounced plans by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the new parliament, and not President Droupadi Murmu, as well as to schedule it on the birth anniversary of VD Savarkar, the Hindutva ideologue who shared views radically divergent from Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.