There was an uproar in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav mentioned Sengol’s name during the debate on the constitution.
Yadav said that during the transfer of power at the time of independence, Sengol was given to the Congress but instead of being accepted as a symbol of justice, it was turned into a ‘walking stick’. After Congress members raised objections and the Speaker asked for verification, Leader of the House JP Nadda assured the House that all the facts would be presented.
Sengol was installed in the Lok Sabha by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28, 2023 after the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
Rejecting Yadav’s comments, Congress member Jairam Ramesh said, “What he said about Sengol is a story spread by them, it is not history. It (sengol) was not formally handed over to anyone. Some people came and gave it to her. A ceremony took place and from there a new history was made. I can produce evidence in this regard.”
Nadda said, ‘This is not a story. This is reality. When the country became independent, Lord Mountbatten asked if there was a ritual observed in the transfer of power and whether that ritual could be adopted. Jawaharlal Nehru replied that he had no idea about it.
He said that C. Rajagopalachari talked about the “tradition followed in the Chola dynasty” and that a plane was sent to Madras (now Chennai) to bring followers of that tradition to Delhi. “They came and it (Sengol) was given to Nehru with religious rituals… Later it was kept in the museum where it was written – Jawaharlal Nehru’s walking stick,” Nadda said.
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