Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, expressed his objection to the development, saying that there was no need for a new structure, amid demands from opposition parties to skip the opening of the new Parliament building. He charged people behind the initiative of trying to rewrite history while being unrelated to the battle for independence. Kumar expressed dismay that Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar and President Droupadi, who is also the head of the Rajya Sabha, were not invited to the event.
Nitish Kumar's JD(U) party made the announcement that it will abstain from the new Parliament building's opening and hold a one-day fast in protest in its place. The Narendra Modi administration was criticised by the party for failing to invite President Droupadi Murmu to officially open the new structure. The party emphasised the significance of the president's position in the legislative system. Umesh Singh Kushwaha, the state president of the JD(U), reaffirmed similar worries and voiced dissatisfaction at the government's disdain for the president's constitutional status.
Kumar mentioned previous commitments in Patna as the reason for his absence from the Niti Aayog conference in Delhi and expressed disappointment at the federal government's lack of reaction after he presented a list of members from Bihar. He also questioned the motives behind the Reserve Bank of India's decision to stop issuing banknotes with the Rs 2000 denomination after it had already stopped issuing notes with the Rs 1000 denomination.
When questioned about the possibility of an opposition unity conference with non-BJP parties prior to the 2018 Lok Sabha elections, Kumar said that talks will happen later. He earlier spoke with Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress, who pushed him to organise a gathering of opposition parties in Patna at the end of May.
Nearly 20 opposition parties, including the Congress, Left, TMC, SP, and AAP, have backed the boycott of the inauguration, saying that the new structure is worthless when the “soul of democracy has been sucked out.” They also objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicking off the structure, saying that it was disrespectful to the President of India, who holds the highest constitutional position. The presence of seven non-NDA parties, totaling 50 Lok Sabha MPs, is likely to provide comfort to the BJP-led NDA and dispel assertions made by the opposition that the event is primarily a government function.
India Today's reports indicate that Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM, also said that his party would not attend the ceremony if Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla would not inaugurate the new Parliament building.
