The Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sadhus and speaker OM Birla at the Lok Sabha Chamber of the New Parliament Building; Image: Organiser
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the new parliament building to the country on May 28 by unveiling the plaque. This indeed is a surreal moment for the country, as the inauguration was done amid chants of shlokas and mantras by sadhus from all across the country.
In the holy environment, the PM installed the historic Sengol by the speaker’s seat in the building. During the installation, the PM was accompanied by the speaker OM Birla. With other dignitaries and politicians, Sadhus and Adheenams were also present inside the building reciting Mantras for the better future of this country.
Numerous theories around the Sengol are infused in the public domain ever since the installation announcement was made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members. It is the same Sengol that was handed over by Sadhus to the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru at his residence on August 14, 1947. This marked the transfer of power.
As this was done as per the Sanatan rituals, the Prime Minister walked barefoot inside the Lok Sabha chamber. He entered the building from Gate No 1 where Speaker OM Birla welcomed him.
After entering the Parliament, PM Modi performed ‘Ganpati Homam’ to invoke the Gods. The ‘Sengol’ was consecrated by Adheenams before the much-awaited installation of the holy sceptre in the new Parliament building.
After installing the Sengol, he sought blessings from the high priests. Sengol has been installed in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker’s chair.
Apart from PM Modi and Speaker Om Birla, union ministers including Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Amit Shah, and Jitendra Singh along with several Chief Ministers and BJP President JP Nadda were present at the Lok Sabha chamber. The Prime Miniter also facilitated some workers who played key roles in the construction of the building.
Notably, pictures from the new parliament building have flooded social media and some of them drew ideas from the Vedic times. There is a depiction of Samudra Manthan, Akhand Bharat and such Vedic events.
Contrary to the Dharmik and cultural values associated with the Sengol, the Congress is busy playing politics around its shifting from Anand Bhawan to the new parliament of India.
The reckless statement by the Congress leader asking for proof around Sengol shows their detachment from our glorious past. Jairam Ramesh claimed that there is ‘no documented evidence’ confirming the Tamil artefact as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to the first elected government of independent India.
He further claimed that the sceptre conceived of by a religious establishment in the Madras province and crafted in Madras City (now Chennai) was indeed presented to Nehru in August 1947.
His statement was, “NO documented evidence whatsoever of Mountbatten, Rajaji and Nehru describing this sceptre as a symbol of the transfer of British power…”
“All claims to this effect are simpl(y) – BOGUS. Wholly and completely manufactured in the minds of a few and dispersed into WhatsApp.”
Earlier Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh each hit out at the BJP and prime minister Narendra Modi over the ‘sengol’ row.
Responding to the Congress protest the Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Why does the Congress party hate Indian traditions and culture so much? A sacred Sengol was given to Pandit Nehru by a holy Saivite Mutt from Tamil Nadu to symbolize India’s freedom but it was banished to a museum as a ‘walking stick’.”
The BJP chief JP Nadda also responded to the Congress saying, “What connects most parties which are boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building? The answer is simple- they are dynasty-run political parties, whose monarchic methods are at loggerheads with the principles of republicanism and democracy in our Constitution,” the BJP chief tweeted.
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