Samajwadi Party (SP) MP RK Chaudhary has triggered a controversy after he demanded that the sacred 'Sengol' --a historic sceptre with a deep Tamil Nadu connection - be replaced with the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, prompting reactions from the Opposition and BJP leaders.
In a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, Chaudhary called Sengol an "anachronistic symbol of monarchy" in a democratic India.Explaining his reasoning, Chaudhary stated, "Sengol means 'Raj Dand'. It also means 'Raja ka Danda'. After ending the princely order, the country became independent. Will the country be run by 'Raja ka danda' or the Constitution? I demand that Sengol be removed from Parliament to save the Constitution."
The BJP, meanwhile, has hit back at the Opposition over its 'sengol' offensive. "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', a senior BJP functionary was reported as saying.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai questioned whether this was the INDIA bloc's collective stance on the issue and said that DMK's comments on the same are awaited. He said that the Sengol was in fact banished by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and reinstated to its rightful place by PM Narendra Modi. "We wish to educate the ill-informed Samajwadi Party MP that Sengol is a symbol of righteousness, which was banished by Pandit Nehru and is restored to its rightful place today by PM Narendra Modi," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).The Tamil Nadu BJP chief further mentioned that the Sengol was reinstated in the New Parliament building in the presence and with the blessings of the Adheenams from Tamil Nadu. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla questioned, "If it was a symbol of monarchy, then why did the first Prime Minister Nehru accept it? Was he accepting that symbol and monarchy?" LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Chirag Paswan also responded, asserting that Congress and Congress-led governments have always tried to misrepresent historical symbols. "These people cannot do positive politics... They only engage in politics of division," he said.
Amid the controversy, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav explained that Chaudhary was highlighting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not bow before the Sengol after taking his oath in the Lok Sabha. He suggested that the PM, having bowed before the Sengol during its installation, might have forgotten to do so when taking the oath. Senior Congress leader and MP B Manickam Tagore echoed the Samajwadi Party MP on the 'sengol' row. RJD MP Manoj Jha and Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti also supported SP's MP on Sengol controversy.
The war of words between the Opposition and the BJP over Sengol, is not new. At the time when it was installed in the new parliament building, it had already turned into a bone of contention between the ruling side and a large section of the Opposition. The Opposition's 'sengol' strategy unfolds alongside the INDIA bloc's focus on the Constitution to challenge the third Narendra Modi government. Throughout this session, the Constitution has been prominently displayed at Opposition meetings.
