Must embrace symbol from past: Shashi Tharoor on Sengol row

• Shashi Tharoor, a senior Congress leader, weighs in on the controversy surrounding the 'Sengol' placed in the new Parliament building
• Tharoor acknowledges the progressive symbolism of the scepter while emphasizing that sovereignty rests with the people and rejecting claims of historic significance
• Congress disputes government claims of Sengol as a symbol of power handover and calls for embracing it as a traditional symbol affirming parliamentary sovereignty.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor delivered his remarks on the controversy surrounding the 'Sengol' installed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the new Parliament building on Sunday.

The location of the sacred 'Sengol' has created a major controversy as Tharoor's party has rejected all the government's claims about the history of the sceptre.

Explaining his views, the Congress MP said the BJP-led Center is right in saying that the scepter reflects the progressiveness of "tradition" by symbolizing the eternal rule of Dharma along with sovereignty.

Moreover, concurring with the opposition's argument, Tharoor maintained that the constitution was adopted in the name of the people, just as sovereignty rests with the people of India as discussed in the parliament, adding that no one surrenders it. some holy right.

The Congress leader further said that the positions of both the Center and the Opposition are compatible if the Opposition takes back the claim of the historic ghost given to first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru as a symbol of handover of power. among the British to India as there is no evidence to support this claim.

He concluded on Twitter: "Instead, we should simply say that the Sengol scepter is a traditional symbol of power and authority and by placing it in the Lok Sabha of India, it confirms that sovereignty resides there and not any monarch." Let us embrace this symbol from the past to affirm the values ​​of our present.”

According to the government, on 14 August 1947, just moments before the tricolor was hoisted and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru delivered his landmark 'Tryst with Destiny' speech at midnight, Sengol was handed over to the country's first Prime Minister.

However, the opposition Congress refuted all such claims and said there was no evidence on record to confirm the fact that Lord Mountbatten, C. Rajagopalachari and Nehru had referred to Sengola as a symbol of "handover of power".