Samajwadi Party MP RK Chaudhary on Thursday demanded the removal of the Sengol, the staff installed in the new Parliament, calling it a symbol of “monarchy” and asked for it to be replaced by the Constitution, sparking a row between the government and the INDIA block of opposition parties.
Chaudhary, in a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that he was “surprised” to see the Sengol while taking his oath.
“The Constitution is the holy book of democracy. The Sengol is a symbol or Raj-danda (rotal staff)...our Parliament is the temple of democracy and not the princely palace of some kingdom,” wrote Chaudhary in the letter.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan attacked the opposition asking if it has come to the parliament to do “controversial politics” saying, “The way such symbols have been tried to be shown in the wrong light for so many decades, today when they are given due respect by our Prime Minister, why are you offended by all these things? Why can’t these opposition leaders think of positive politics?”
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla said,”The Samajwadi Party earlier attacked and abused Ramcharitmanas and now Sengol, which is part of Indian culture and particularly Tamil culture. The DMK must clarify if they support this insult of sengol.”
{{/usCountry}}BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla said,”The Samajwadi Party earlier attacked and abused Ramcharitmanas and now Sengol, which is part of Indian culture and particularly Tamil culture. The DMK must clarify if they support this insult of sengol.”
{{/usCountry}}Congress’ senior MP Manickam Tagore welcoming the suggestion saying, “The government has always been playing with this kind of thing, by placing Sengol. Making a high drama when the new Parliament was inaugurated.”
RJD MP Misa Bharti said, “It should be removed because it is a democratic country. The Sengol should be kept in the museum where people can come and see it...”
In May last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi after an elaborate procession with Tamil priests placed the ancient ‘Sengol’ scepter in the Lok Sabha chamber near the Speaker’s chair during the inauguration of the new Parliament building. This sacred artifact, originally received by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on August 14, 1947, was handed over to Modi by spiritual leaders from Tamil Nadu. Modi decided to adopt Sengol as a national symbol of the ‘Amrit Kaal’.