In some ways, the inauguration of the new Parliament building – conducted amid the symbolism of a spectacular ceremony and the acrimonious rhetoric of many opposition parties – mirrored the fragmented realm of national politics.
At the same time, it showed some continuity of themes since the summer of 2014, when the BJP-led government came to power under Narendra Modi. Besides blending elements of “nutan and purantan”, the new and the ancient, to recall Modi’s evocative phrase on the occasion, the ceremony significantly marked continuity in a key part of the party's political messaging of the last nine years.
