On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 'revamped' memorial to 'honour' the Jallianwala Bagh massacre martyrs. Modi also unveiled a new entrance, and light and sound show at the venue.
"Join me as we inaugurate the renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh Smarak today at 6:25 pm. I also invite you to watch the sound and light show. It would display the horrific massacre of April 1919 and instil a spirit of gratitude and reverence towards the martyrs", the PM had tweeted on August 28.
However, the move did not go well with several netizens and Opposition leaders who expressed their anguish and shock on Twitter.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to slam the government's choices.
"Such an insult to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh can only be done by those who do not know the meaning of martyrdom. I am the son of a martyr - I will not tolerate the insult of martyrs at any cost. We are against this indecent cruelty", the Congress leader wrote in Hindi.
Another Congress member, Gaurav Gogoi, wrote, "call me a traditional Indian but I am not a fan of installing disco lights on institutions of importance and dignity. Such pomp reduces the gravity and horror of the Jallianwala Bagh Smarak to base entertainment. Similarly the strobe lights on Parliament are also appalling".
Bewildered citizens penned down their thoughts on the issue as well.
"This is desecration at best and forceful erosion of history at worst", wrote one Twitter user.
Another individual compared the 'revamped' memorial to a Holocaust memorial for Jews, pointing out the stark differences.
"This is Holocaust memorial— bulit to honour the memory of millions of Jews who were exterminated by Nazis during the Holocaust. More importantly, there's no light and sound show here", tweeted the user.
More netizens chimed in with similar views.