SP MP wants ‘sengol’ to go from Parliament; BJP slams INDIA bloc's 'hatred' of Tamil culture
"Samajwadi Party has no respect for Indian history or culture. The remarks of their top leaders on the Sengol are condemnable and indicate their ignorance," said UP CM Yogi Adityanath
A Samajwadi Party (SP) MP has demanded that the 'sengol' installed next to the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha be replaced by the Constitution “to save democracy”.
The demand was made by Mohanlalganj (Uttar Pradesh) member RK Chaudhary in a letter to Speaker Om Birla.
He said the handcrafted, gold-plated sengol, about five-feet long, must be replaced by a copy of the Constitution to "save democracy".
Sengol vs Constitution
"The adoption of the Constitution marked the beginning of democracy in the country, and the Constitution is its symbol. The BJP government in its last term installed 'sengol' next to the Speaker's chair,” Chaudhary said in his letter.
“Sengol is a Tamil word that means sceptre. ‘Rajdand’ also means the king's stick. We have become independent after the age of kings. Now, every man and woman who is an eligible voter chooses the government to run this country. So will the country run by Constitution or by a king's stick?" he asked.
SP MP gets support
Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav said: "When 'sengol' was installed, the prime minister bowed to it. But he forgot to bow while taking oath this time. I think our MP wanted to remind (Modi) about it."
Congress leader and MP B Manickam Tagore appeared to agree.
"The 'sengol' symbolises kingship, and the kingdom-era is over. We should celebrate the people's democracy and the Constitution," Tagore told NDTV.
BJP backs sengol
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at the demand for sengol’s removal.
"The Samajwadi Party opposes Sengol in Parliament, calling it 'Raja ka Dand'. If it was so, why did Jawaharlal Nehru accept it? This shows their mindset. They attack Ramcharitmanas and now Sengol. Does DMK support this insult? They must clarify," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.