New Delhi, May 28 (). Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday took a dig at the historic Sengol, saying by keeping it in the Lok Sabha, India is affirming that sovereignty resides there and not with any king.
Amidst the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi placing Sengol in the new Parliament House, Tharoor said in a tweet, “My own view on the Sengol controversy is that both sides have good arguments.” The government rightly argues that the scepter signifies continuity of tradition by embodying sacred sovereignty and the rule of dharma. The opposition’s argument is also correct that the Constitution was adopted in the name of the people and that sovereignty rests with the people of India as represented in their Parliament.
The Congress Lok Sabha MP said the two situations can be reconciled, if one discards the controversial red herring about Lord Mountbatten handing over the scepter to the first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, as a symbol of transfer of power. A story for which there is no evidence. Instead we should simply say that the Sengol scepter is a traditional symbol of power and authority, and by placing it in the Lok Sabha, India is affirming that sovereignty resides there and not with any monarch. Let us accept this symbol from the past with our present values.
His remarks came after the Prime Minister inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday and placed Sengol near the chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker in the chamber.
Twenty opposition parties, including the Congress, boycotted the inauguration ceremony of the new parliament building, accusing the BJP of not inviting President Draupadi Murmu and calling it an insult to the country’s first tribal president.
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