The Indian government has defended the form of the national emblem on top of the new Parliament building amid criticism over its appearance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new statue adapted from an ancient Indian sculpture on Monday.
The 6.5 m (21 ft 3 in) tall cast shows four Asiatic lions mounted back-to-back on a circular disc.
Critics say the new lions look “brutal” and deviate from their original depictions.
Opposition leaders also hit out at the government, saying that Ashoka’s new incarnation of the symbol from the lion capital, a statue that was one of the many pillars erected by Emperor Ashoka during his reign in 250 BC, was a “shameless insult”.
But a federal government minister dismissed the criticism, saying the statue was a “perfect replica” of the original “except for the size”.
“Sense of proportion and perspective. Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm and anger. The original Sarnath Emblem is 1.6-metre high whereas the emblem on the top of the New Parliament building is huge at 6.5 metres,” Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on Twitter, posting photos comparing the original emblem and the new statue.
The minister added that if a replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, “it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail”.
Prime Minister Modi had shared a video of the unveiling on Monday morning which showed the cast – weighing 9,500kg (20,943 pounds) – on top of the central foyer of the new parliament building.
The new parliament building was expected to be completed by August 2022 in time for the country’s celebrations of 75 years of independence. But officials later said the building would be complete only in October.