National emblem an exact replica of Sarnath: Govt slams Opposition

New Delhi, July 12: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday asserted that national emblem unveiled by Prime Minister Modi on Parliament's new building is exact replica of the one in Sarnath and accusesed Opposition of deliberately trying to create one controversy after another for political reasons.

"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 tweeted.

"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," Puri said in another tweet. T

he minister also tweeted the picture of the Sarnath emblem. "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."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday unveiled the national emblem atop the new Parliament building in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

Opposition leaders and activists have 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.