'Looks nice to me': Amarinder Singh contradicts Rahul Gandhi on Jallianwala Bagh renovation

The Congress government in Punjab has also been under glare with many questioning why it did not flag the construction that ended up renovating the site instead of preserving history.

Majority of the criticisms has been directed at the hi-tech galleries that have replaced the stark, unadorned passage through which British General Dyer had led his men and ordered them to open fire on the thousands of men and women gathered for a peaceful protest.

In an Iapparent attempt to support the renovations, Singh told reporters: "I don't know what has been removed. To me it looks very nice."

The stance is completely different from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who called the renovation an "insult to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh".

"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," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi earlier in the day.

"Those who didn’t struggle for freedom can’t understand those who did," Gandhi said slamming the Narendra Modi government.

Amarinder Singh's comment comes amid a crisis within the state Congress, where a section of leaders have rebelled against the Chief Minister's leadership and wants him removed from the top post.

While the Central leaders have so far refused to comply, they have also elevated cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu to head the party's state unit.

Several other opposition leaders had slammed the renovations, saying the new construction has taken away the dignity of the place and horror of the day 102 years ago when British General Dyer opened fire on a peaceful protest.

Earlier, historian S Irfan Habib had tweeted: "This is corporatisation of monuments, where they end up as modern structures, losing the heritage value. Look after them without meddling with the flavours of the period these memorials represent."

One of the hardest criticisms came from CPM's Sitaram Yechury, who had said, "Only those who stayed away from the epic freedom struggle can scandalise thus".

"Insulting our martyrs. Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Hindus Muslims Sikhs who gathered together for Baisakhi galvanised our freedom struggle. Every brick here permeated the horror of British rule. Only those who stayed away from the epic freedom struggle can scandalise thus," he had written.

On Apr 13, 1919, people had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of pro-Indian independence leaders Dr Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr Satya Pal.

In response to the public gathering, British Brigadier-General R E H Dyer surrounded the Bagh, sealed the only entrance, and fired on the crowd, leading to deaths of at least 1000 people and around 1200 people being wounded.