Samajwadi Party MP demands Sengol to be replaced by Constitution in Lok Sabha

This demand drew criticism from the BJP and other NDA allies.

In a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, RK Chaudhary described the Sengol as an "anachronistic symbol of monarchy" in a democratic India.

According to an India Today report, Chaudhary explained the logic behind his claim,  saying, "Sengol means 'Raj Dand'. It also means 'Raja ka Danda'. After ending the princely order, the country became independent. Will the country be run by 'Raja ka danda' or the Constitution? I demand that Sengol be removed from Parliament to save the Constitution."

The Sengol, placed in the Lok Sabha during the inauguration of the new Parliament building last year, was originally given to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to Indians.

Chaudhary's comments were met with backlash from the BJP, which accused the Samajwadi Party of being "hell-bent" on insulting an essential aspect of Indian and Tamil culture.

"If it was a symbol of monarchy, then why did the first Prime Minister Nehru accept it? Was he accepting that symbol and monarchy," said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, the report said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the INDIA bloc, claiming that their stance demonstrated the alliance's disdain for Tamil culture.

"The Samajwadi Party has no respect for Indian history or culture. The remarks of their top leaders on the Sengol are condemnable and indicate their ignorance. It also shows INDI alliance's hatred to Tamil culture in particular," Adityanath tweeted.

LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Chirag Paswan also came down heavily, accusing Congress and Congress-led governments of always trying to misrepresent historical symbols.

"These people cannot do positive politics... These people only do politics of division," he said.

As the controversy flared, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, shielding Chaudhary from criticism, said the MP was just attempting to draw attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did not bow before the Sengol after taking oath in the Lok Sabha.

"I think our MP might be saying that because when it (Sengol) was installed, the PM had bowed before it. He perhaps forgot it while taking oath... When the PM forgot to bow before it, maybe he too wanted something else," ANI quoted AKhilesh Yadav as saying.