"Pride Of Every Tamilian": Minister Attacks Opposition Over 'Sengol' Demand

Junior Parliamentary Affairs Minister L Murugan said the INDIA alliance does not value the 'sengol'.

The opposition's push to keep the Constitution front and centre by asking for the 'sengol', a sceptre kept next to the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha, to be replaced by a copy of the text has led to a strong pushback by the government, which has accused the INDIA alliance of disrespecting the baton and what it symbolises.

Reacting to Samajwadi Party MP RK Chaudhary writing to Speaker Om Birla and asking for the 'sengol' to be replaced by a copy of the Constitution, junior Parliamentary Affairs Minister L Murugan said on Thursday that the sceptre is the pride of every Tamilian. 

"It is also mentioned in Tirukkural (a classic Tamil text by poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar), which spoke about how the sengol plays a role in government. When India got freedom, (Governor General) Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru had spoken about how power would be handed over after Independence and when Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari) was consulted, he said it can be done using a sengol," Mr Murugan, who is also a former president of the Tamil Nadu BJP, said.