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‘Sengol’ row: Smriti Irani fires ‘Nehru’s walking stick’ jibe at Congress
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday took a jibe at the Congress for boycotting the new Parliament inauguration.
Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday took a swipe at the Congress for boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building, alleging the Gandhi family had kept the 'Sengol' in the 'dark corner of a museum as Jawaharlal Nehru's walking stick' for years.
The 'Sengol' is a historic artifact from Tamil Nadu that will be installed in the new Parliament and signified, the government has said, the transfer of power from the British to the first elected head of independent India - ex-prime minister Nehru.
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"Today, I ask every citizen of the country... calling India's evidence of religion, faith, and democracy as a 'walking stick'… does it not indicate what the Gandhi family thinks about our country's history, our country's democracy?" Irani questioned.
She added, "This is why it is not surprising that the Gandhi family is opposing and pushing others to oppose the new parliament launch."
The 'Sengol' had been kept in the Allahabad Museum's Nehru Gallery. Earlier today, it was brought to Delhi ahead of its installation in the new Parliament building - it will be formally received by prime minister Narendra Modi and set up near the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair.
A massive war of words has broken out between nearly two dozen opposition parties and the government over both the 'Sengol' and the decision to have Modi inaugurate the new Parliament rather than President Droupadi Murmu, who has not been invited to the event.
Nineteen opposition parties, including the Congress, issued a joint statement Thursday in which they accused an 'authoritarian prime minister' of having 'completely side-lined president Murmu', which they called a 'grave insult and direct assault on democracy'.
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Meanwhile, a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court this week by lawyer Jaya Sukin seeking a direction to the centre to invite Murmu to the inauguration of the new Parliament. The top court, however, refused to entertain the plea and it was withdrawn.
