Emblem row: Actor Prakash Raj takes a jibe at depiction

CHENNAI: Multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj on Thursday waded into the row over the national emblem atop the new Parliament building in New Delhi, using his "#justasking" series to take an apparent jibe at the ruling BJP.

An outspoken critic of the saffron party, the actor-producer took to Twitter, asking "Where are we heading… #justasking." Raj, who has acted in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu movies among others uses the "#justasking" hashtag on the micro-blogging site to pose questions on various issues at the BJP-led Centre.

On Thursday, he posted a collage of 'Before' and 'Now' pictures of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman, both in apparent aggressive depictions in the latter column, followed by comparative images of the national emblem including the one installed atop the new Parliament building.

The "ferocious" makeover of the emblem, whose cast was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday has come in for criticism from opposition parties.

The opposition accused the central government of giving a "ferocious" look to the sculpture and insulting the symbol, while the BJP dismissed it as yet another “conspiracy” to target Modi.

The new statue is an adaptation of an ancient sculpture ‘Lion Capital of Ashoka' at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, dating back to 250 BC.