SP MP demands removal of Sengol from Parliament, triggers political row

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP RK Chaudhary’s demand to remove ‘Sengol’ from the Parliament triggered a political row on Thursday between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the INDIA bloc. 

Chaudhary, while questioning the presence of the Sengol in the Parliament, called it a symbol of “monarchy” and demanded that it be replaced by the Constitution.

Chaudhary, in a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, said he was “surprised” to see the Sengol while taking his oath. 

He said that the Constitution is the symbol of democracy, and the BJP government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, installed the Sengol in the Parliament.

“The Constitution is the holy book of democracy…Sengol means ‘Raj-Dand’ or ‘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 SP leader said. 

“...Our Parliament is the temple of democracy and not the princely palace of some kingdom,” he added.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, defending Chaudhary’s remarks, said, “When Sengol was installed, the Prime Minister had bowed to it. But he forgot to bow while taking the oath this time. I think our MP wanted to remind the Prime Minister about it.”

BJP leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan attacked the opposition and asked if they had come to the Parliament to do “controversial politics”. 

“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?” he said.

Hitting out at the SP, BJP leader and spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla said, “The Samajwadi Party earlier attacked and abused Ramcharitmanas and now Sengol.” He said that it is a part of Indian culture, particularly Tamil culture and asked the INDIA bloc’s partner, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam if they support such an insult.

He further questioned why former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had accepted the Sengol in the first place.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore supported Chaudhary’s demand and said that the government created a high drama during the inauguration of the new Parliament, by placing Sengol.

Rashtriya Janata Dal 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...”

In May last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the ‘Sengol’ sceptre in the Lok Sabha chamber near the Speaker’s chair during the inauguration of the new Parliament building. This sacred artefact, 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.’