Samajwadi Party MP RK Chaudhary caused a stir after he demanded that the Sengol, a historic sceptre, be replaced with the Constitution in the Lok Sabha. This has drawn criticism from the ruling BJP and other NDA allies.
In a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, RK Chaudhary called Sengol an "anachronistic symbol of monarchy" in a democratic India. Chaudhary said, "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 Sengol, installed in the Lok Sabha during the inauguration of the new Parliament building last year, was handed to India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to Indians.
The Samajwadi Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav, is the third-largest party in this Lok Sabha, after winning 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP Responds To Samajwadi Party's Demand
In a strong response, BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Tell me that the party which is a symbol of nepotism is again hell-bent on insulting such an integral part of Indian culture, Tamil culture. If it was a symbol of monarchy then why did the first Prime Minister Nehru accept it, was he accepting that symbol and monarchy.”
Union Minister Chirag Paswan also joined the debate. He said, “It is beyond my understanding that the people of your area have chosen you for development work or to come here and do such 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?”
