CM Adityanath flays SP leader's remark on 'Sengol'

Lucknow, Jun 27 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday slammed the remark of an SP MP on the traditional sceptre 'Sengol', calling it "disgraceful".

His remarks came amid a controversy sparked by Samajwadi Party's (SP) Lok Sabha member R K Chaudhary in a letter to pro-tem speaker B Mahtab for the removal of 'Sengol' from the Parliament building.

Later, calling the 'Sengol' a "rajadanda" (king's stick) while speaking to PTI Videos, Chaudhary said, "The sceptre was used by the monarchs to resolve any issues of the citizens but now we have democracy and follow the Constitution." "That is why, it is only apt to take the Sengol (Tamil word for Sceptre) back to its original place and a giant copy of the Constitution be installed in its place in the Parliament," he added.

Adityanath said the remarks revealed the ignorance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders and demonstrated their lack of respect for Indian history and culture.

"Sengol is India's pride and PM Modi has bestowed upon it the highest honour in the Parliament," he added in a post on X.

"Samajwadi Party has no respect for Indian history and culture. The comments of its top leaders on the Sengol are reprehensible," he said.

"It shows their ignorance and also reflects the hatred of the INDI alliance towards Tamil culture," the chief minister's post added.

President Droupadi Murmu was on Thursday welcomed at the Parliament Building by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with an official carrying the 'Sengol', adopted as a cultural symbol by the government.

'Sengol', the historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu, was received by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent transfer of power from the British and was kept in a museum in Allahabad before being installed in the new Parliament building. PTI SNS RPA