Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 10 December, laid the foundation stone for a new Parliament building as part of the ambitious Central Vista project for New Delhi.
Calling it a "historic day", the PM said, "The old Parliament building gave a new direction to India after Independence. New building will be a witness to the creation of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. In the old building, work to fulfill necessities of the nation was done. In the new building, ambitions of India of 21st century will be realised."
But the ceremony came as India sees massive protests by farmers demanding the repeal of three farm laws that were passed a couple of weeks back in the Parliament under controversial circumstances.
In fact, one can argue that India has been in a state of constant unrest since the past one year, starting with the anti-CAA and NRC protests of December 2019, moving on to the migrant crisis during the coronavirus-induced lockdown this summer, and now with the farmers' protests that have been the most prominent in the Delhi-NCR region.
So as we look to the construction of a new Parliament in the coming years, what kind of 'New India' will it be for – a great democracy that represents all citizens, or one marred by a state of constant unrest?
(Kaafi Real is a series of cartoons on The Quint. You can check out all our other Kaafi Real cartoons here.)
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