Row over 'aggressive' national emblem: Centre slams 'experts' over criticism
The Centre has defended the depiction of the national emblem cast atop the new Parliament building on Tuesday following opposition parties' criticism of its alleged "aggressive" makeover. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted there is no difference between the original Sarnath emblem and the one on the new Parliament building. He suggested the latter's scaled-down version will look the same as the Sarnath emblem.
Why does this story matter?
The State Emblem of India is based on the Sarnath Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka, which is housed at the Sarnath Museum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the national emblem on the roof of the new parliament building on Monday. The opposition parties slammed the government, saying the cast had been changed. However, the government claimed no modification was made to the original emblem.
What did Union minister Puri tweet?
"Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm & anger," Puri tweeted. He stated the Sarnath emblem is 1.6m tall, whereas the newly-unveiled one is a scaled-up version—at 6.5m tall. He contended if an exact replica of the original was mounted on the new Parliament building, it wouldn't be visible beyond the perimeter rail.
How did Puri describe the new replica?
While comparing the original and newly-installed emblems, the Union minister emphasized the importance of "angle, height, and scale." "The 'experts' should also know...the original placed in Sarnath is at ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 [meters]," he said. Puri said when viewed from below, the Sarnath emblem might also appear "as calm or angry" as the new one.
Here is what the Union minister tweeted
How did the opposition react?
After Modi unveiled the national emblem atop the new Parliament building, several photos of it surfaced on social media. Soon after, leaders of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Trinamool Congress accused the government of "distorting" the national emblem. While Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury expressed doubts over the new depiction, TMC MP Jawahar Sircar said the Ashokan lions were "unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate."
Ex-ASI official on new depiction of national emblem
Meanwhile, a former senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said the portrayal of lions in the national emblem is a "good copy" of Sarnath's Lion Capital of Ashoka. "When it comes to 7-8 feet Ashoka Lion and when it comes to 20-21 feet Ashoka Lion, then the artist's work angle is different," said BR Mani, former Additional Director General of ASI.
