Responding to the face change controversy, sculptor Sunil Deore said that new statute and statue and the ancient sculpture Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath are same. He said that there is no difference between both the statues.
New Delhi: In a fresh round of row between leaders of ruling BJP and opposition parties, the later have accused the government of giving an ‘aggressive look to the to the national emblem unveiled atop the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition leaders alleged that changed look of Ashoka lions is intentional by the government. The BJP, reacting over the allegation, said that ancient sculpture at Sarnath and national emblem cast are same. The ruling party hits back saying that opposition is deliberately trying to create controversy over the issue.
The opposition parties alleged BJP-led government of distorting the original look with a certain motive and demanded to restore the original look.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “To completely change the character and nature of the lions on Ashoka’s pillar at Sarnath is nothing but a brazen insult to India’s National Symbol!”
National president of Indian Youth Congress Srinivas BV, in a tweet, alleged, “What has changed in the country since 1950 till now is visible by looking at the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Ashoka Pillar..”
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri defended government’s decision over look of the lions. In a series of tweets, Puri, said, “Sense of proportion & perspective. Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm & anger. The original #Sarnath #Emblem is 1.6 mtr high whereas the emblem on the top of the #NewParliamentBuilding is huge at 6.5 mtrs height.”
“If an exact replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail. The ‘experts’ should also know that the original placed in Sarnath is at ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 mtrs from ground,” he added.
“One needs to appreciate the impact of angle, height & scale when comparing the two structures. If one looks at the Sarnath emblem from below it would look as calm or angry as the one being discussed,” added Puri.
“If the Sarnath emblem was to be scaled up or the emblem on the new Parliament building is reduced to that size there would not be any difference.=,” the minister said in his concluding tweet.
Meanwhile, responding to the face change controversy, sculptor Sunil Deore said that new statute and statue and the ancient sculpture Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath are same. He said that there is no difference between both the statues. He maintained that his focus was to create an exact replica of the lions as the original structure is 3 to 3.5 feet high, but the new one is 21.3 feet tall. He said that nine months were taken to give complete the task.
