Opposition parties including the Congress, the CPI (M), the TMC, and the AIMIM have hit out at the Narendra Modi-led Central government for “distorting” the national emblem by replacing the “graceful and regally confident” Ashokan lions with those having menacing and aggressive posture and sought immediate change.

Opposition leaders have also accused the Prime Minister of flouting constitutional norms and not inviting them to the event.

On Monday, PM Modi unveiled the cast of the national emblem atop the new Parliament building in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and also attended a religious ceremony at the site.

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “Narendra Modi 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 is needed, mend the same.”

CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a series of tweets, said, “PM unveiling the national emblem on top of the new Parliament building is a clear violation of our Constitution. The Constitution unambiguously separates the 3 wings of our democracy – the Executive (government), the Legislature (Parliament and state assemblies) & the Judiciary.”

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, in a tweet, said, “Constitution separates powers of parliament, govt & judiciary. As head of govt, @PMOIndia shouldn’t have unveiled the national emblem atop the new parliament building. The Speaker of Lok Sabha represents LS which isn’t subordinate to govt. @PMOIndia has violated all constitutional norms.”

Sharing two different images of the national emblem, TMC Rajya Sabha member Jawahar Sircar said, “Insult to our national symbol, the majestic Ashokan Lions. Original is on the left, graceful, regally confident. The one on the right is Modi’s version, put above the new Parliament building – snarling, unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate. Shame! Change it immediately.”

Responding to all allegations by Opposition parties, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said those opposing the massive national emblem cast atop the new Parliament building need to appreciate the “impact of angle, height and 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,” he explained in a series of tweets along with images.

“If an exact replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail.”

“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 meter high whereas the emblem on the top of the #NewParliamentBuilding is huge at 6.5 meters height,” he added.

Sunil Deore and Romiel Moses, designers of the emblem atop the new parliament building, 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.