The Congress party has expressed its strong opposition to the decision of the Narendra Modi government to merge the flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ) at India Gate with the flame at the National War Memorial. Launching an attack on the BJP government in Dehradun on Friday, the national spokesperson of Congress party Gaurav Vallabh said that Amar Jawan Jyoti is the temple of the martyrs and its flame cannot be shifted. He said that the eternal flame of the AJJ has been ablaze for the last 50 years and it is the symbol of our valour, sacrifice and pride but it would be extinguished today and its new address would now be the National War Memorial. Vallabh said that extinguishing the eternal flame not only tells the story of the capricious character of the "king" but also shows how much he respects our martyrs. Narrating what he claimed the chronology of the plan to destroy the symbols of valour, sacrifice and country’s heritage, Vallabh said that first of all a Laser show was organised at Jalianwala Bagh which insulted the martyrs then an effort was made to change Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad in an attempt to reduce the sacrifice and dedication of Gandhi. He questioned if the only objective of shifting the eternal flame of AJJ is to construct the central vista.

The president of the ex-servicemen wing of Uttarakhand Congress Captain (retd) Balbir Singh Rawat said that the Modi government should have consulted the family members of the martyrs before taking the decision to shift the flame of AJJ. He said that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had set up AJJ in India Gate in the memory of the martyrs of Indo – Pak war of 1971.  The spokesman of Uttarakhand Congress Rajiv Mehrshi said that the Modi government is making an attempt to erase the memory of Indira Gandhi and martyrs but it will fail in this act.