National Politics

“Angry, Insecure, Vengeful”: Opposition, Netizens Criticise National Emblem Unveiled By PM Modi

National Emblem
Not just the Opposition slammed the Prime Minister but also the citizens for unveiling the National Emblem

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled the national emblem, placed at the top of the new Parliament building. He was accused of turning the ceremony, attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Housing Minister Hardeep Puri, into a personal event. The opposition slammed Modi by questioning the Constitutional Proprietary and calling the sculpture’s unveiling a “clear violation of the Constitutional normsā€.

ā€œParliament and the national emblem belong to the people of India and not one man. Imagine if the leaders of all major parties were present at the inauguration today, swearing to uphold the Constitution. But why ruin the photo for our Shahenshah?ā€ tweeted Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said: ā€œAs head of the government, the Prime Minister shouldnā€™t have unveiled the national emblem atop the new Parliament building. The Speaker represents LS, which isnā€™t subordinate to the government. The Prime Minister has violated all constitutional norms.ā€

The CPM also objected to the religious ceremony organised at the event. CPI general secretary D Raja said Parliament belonged to everyone and wondered ā€œhow a personal eventā€ was organised there. ā€œAlso, Parliament is neutral so why bring religious functions into it?ā€ he said.

Hitting back, the BJP said the allegations of the opposition parties are politically motivated. But, it wasnā€™t just the political parties who criticised PM ,there were many people who went on tweeting as the Emblem didn’t seem to be the way it originally was.Ā 

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan has tweeted, ā€œFrom 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!ā€

TMC MP Jawhar Sircar tweeted, ā€œInsult to our national symbol, the majestic Ashokan Lions.Ā  Original is on the left, graceful, regally confident. The one on the right is Modiā€™s version, put aboveĀ  new Parliament building ā€” snarling, unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate. Shame! Change it immediately!ā€Ā 

A twitter user named Advaid has tweeted: ā€œSince when did Ashokaā€™s lions bare their fangs? And they never snarled before.ā€

ā€œIndia as symbolised by the original Sarnath Bell Capital and Modijiā€™s Lions.Pic 1: Old India: strong, confident and hence endearing .Pic 2: New India: angry, insecure and hence vengefulā€, tweeted another user Sanjoy Ghose.

One such user Devdan Choudhari tweeted , ā€œ Ashokaā€™s lions are lean, calm and graceful, while the BJPā€™s lions are muscular, angry and menacing. Our peaceful and aesthetically pleasing national emblem has been crudely distorted to reflect the Hindutva attitude.ā€

 

Mona Ambegaonkar, an activist tweeted, ā€œChanging the National Emblem is Treason.ā€

 

The metal sculpture has been built in Aurangabad, Jaipur and Delhi by artists Sunil Deore and Lakshman Vyas. The earlier design incorporated a spire atop the building and was replaced with the Ashoka Emblem in 2020.

 

Dear Readers,
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.

Related posts