'Banished by Nehru...': Annamalai's scathing attack as Opposition demands removal of Sengol from Lok Sabha

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Thursday attacked the Opposition over Samajwadi Party MP RK Chaudhary's demand to remove the Sengol installed in Parliament to save the Constitution. 

RK Chaudhary demanded that the Sengol be removed from the Parliament to save the Constitution. He said that the BJP government, in its previous tenure, got the Sengol installed in the Parliament. Chaudhary explained that Sengol not only means 'Raj-Dand' it also means 'Raja ka Danda.'

Annamalai questioned whether this was the INDIA bloc's collective stance on the issue and said that DMK's comments on the same are awaited. He said that the Sengol was in fact banished by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and reinstated to its rightful place by PM Narendra Modi. 

"We wish to educate the ill-informed Samajwadi Party MP that Sengol is a symbol of righteousness, which was banished by Pandit Nehru and is restored to its rightful place today by PM Narendra Modi," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The Tamil Nadu BJP chief further mentioned that the Sengol was reinstated in the New Parliament building in the presence and with the blessings of the Adheenams from Tamil Nadu. The firebrand leader also said that a jibe at Sengol is "an insult to the Adheenams of Tamil Nadu, who come from the Backward Class community." 

He further wrote: "These comments from SP MP come as no surprise with the reappointment of Thiru Sam Pitroda, who equated South Indians to Africans & reflected how truly I.N.D.I. Alliance members think of South Indians & our culture."

Annamalai was not the only BJP leader to condemn the Opposition over its remarks on Sengol. Union Minister Chirag Paswan asked why was the Opposition getting offended when PM Modi has given due respect to these symbols, which have been "tried to show in the wrong light for so many decades."

Paswan also said he was baffled that INDIA bloc leaders chose to do "such controversial politics" instead of focusing on development work. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also took the Opposition to task over the Sengol issue. 

Poonawalla asked the party that represents nepotism is "hell-bent on insulting such an integral part of Indian culture, Tamil culture", while adding that if Sengol was a symbol of monarchy, then why did Pandit Nehru accept it. 

RK Chaudhary, however, found backing from senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury. She said that this is one person's opinion, while adding the government did not ask Tamilians before putting Sengol in the Parliament.

RJD MP Misa Bharti said that the Sengol should be kept in the museum where people can come and see it instead of the Parliament. "Yes, it should definitely be removed. We are in a democracy. Sengol can be put up in a museum where everyone can see it. We support whoever has brought this up. As it is a symbol of monarchy, it should be removed," she said.