National emblem row: Opposition attacks Centre over muscular, aggressive lions; here's all you need to know

Opposition leaders on Tuesday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of distorting the national emblem by replacing the "graceful and regally confident" Ashokan lions with those having "menacing and aggressive posture".

"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 needs, mend the same," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said on Twitter.

"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," Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Jawahar Sircar said on Twitter sharing two different images of the national emblem.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said this was a "brazen insult to India’s National Symbol".

He 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!"

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra posted the before and after pictures of the national emblem on her Twitter handle without comment.

Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said that the lions in the national emblem are known to have a mild expression, but those on the new sculpture appear to have a "man-eating tendency".

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.

Here's all you need to know about the national emblem:

1. The emblem is made up of bronze. Its total weight is 9,500 kg and is 6.5 metre in height.

2. It has been cast at the top of the Central Foyer of New Parliament Building.

3. A supporting structure of steel weighing around 6,500 kg has been constructed to support the emblem.

4. The concept sketch and process of casting of the national emblem on the roof of new Parliament building has gone through eight different stages of preparation from clay modeling/computer graphic to bronze casting and polishing.