My new India will not be saffron, fractious, intolerant: Sibal slams PM

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks at the new Parliament building inauguration, saying freedom of thought with the aspirational underpinnings of 1.4 billion minds and not bricks and mortar will make his "new India".

Modi on Sunday described the inauguration of the new Parliament building as an "immortalised" moment in the country's development journey, asserting that it will mark the dawn of a self-reliant and developed India which will also inspire the progress of other nations.

In a speech delivered from the grand Lok Sabha hall decorated in a peacock motif, Modi said the new Parliament building reflected the aspirations and resolve of the "new India" to set and work towards achieving greater heights.

In a tweet, Sibal cited the prime minister's remarks at the inauguration during which he invoked the new India.

"Not brick and mortar but freedom of thought with the aspirational underpinnings of 1.4 b minds, where ideas flourish, colours splash. Not: Saffron, Fractious, Intolerant, will make my new India," the former Union minister said.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He recently floated the non-electoral platform 'Insaaf', aimed at fighting injustice.