Centre under fire for distorting Ashoka's 'graceful, peaceful' lions
Opposition members and activists among others on Tuesday accused the government of distorting the national emblem by replacing the “graceful and regally confident” Ashokan lions with those having menacing and aggressive posture and sought immediate change. The Prime Minister unveiled the 6.5-metre long and 9,500-kg heavy bronze National Emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament building on Monday.
“Narendra Modi Ji, please observe the face of the lion, whether it is representing the statue of Great Sarnath or a distorted version of the Gir lion. Please check it and if it needs, mend the same,” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said on Twitter.
@narendramodi Ji, please observe the face of the Lion, whether it is representing the statue of Great #Sarnath or a distorted version of GIR lion. please check it and if it needs, mend the same.
— Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) July 12, 2022
India’s national emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, an ancient sculpture dating back to the Mauryan empire.
The State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005 lays down that the state emblem “shall conform to the designs as set out in Appendix I or Appendix II” of the Act.
Opposition had hit out at Modi for flouting constitutional norms and not inviting opposition leaders to the event.
“Insult to our national symbol, the majestic Ashokan Lions. Original is on the left, graceful, regally confident. The one on the right is Modis version, put above the new Parliament building – snarling, unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate. Shame! Change it immediately,” Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Jawahar Sircar said on Twitter sharing two different images of the national emblem.
Historian S Irfan Habib also objected to the national emblem unveiled atop the new Parliament building. “Meddling with our national emblem was totally unnecessary and avoidable. Why should our lions look ferocious and full of angst? These are Ashoka’s lions adapted by independent India in 1950,” Habib said.
“From Gandhi to Godse; From our national emblem with lions sitting majestically & peacefully; to the new national emblem unveiled for the top of the new Parliament building under construction at Central Vista; Angry lions with bared fangs. This is Modi’s new India,” senior lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan said.
Also Read: BJP rejects Oppn criticism of PM unveiling emblem on new parl building
The AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also took to Twitter and said: “Constitution separates powers of parliament, government and judiciary. As head of the government, the prime minister should not have unveiled the national emblem atop new parliament building. Speaker of Lok Sabha represents LS which isn’t subordinate to government. Prime Minister has violated all constitutional norms.”
Constitution separates powers of parliament, govt & judiciary. As head of govt, @PMOIndia shouldn’t have unveiled the national emblem atop new parliament building. Speaker of Lok Sabha represents LS which isn’t subordinate to govt. @PMOIndia has violated all constitutional norms pic.twitter.com/kiuZ9IXyiv
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 11, 2022
TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who is at the centre of a row on her comment on Goddess Kali also took to Twitter and posted the two emblems side by side without dropping any comment.
However, Sunil Deore and Romiel Moses, designers of the new emblem, stressed that there is “no deviation”. “We’ve paid attention to detail. The character of lions is the same. There may be very minor differences. People may have different interpretations. It’s a large statue, and a view from below may give a distorted impression,” they said, adding that as artists, they are proud of the sculpture.
(With Agency Inputs)
