Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha MP R K Chaudhary on Wednesday in a letter to Speaker Om Birla, said 'Sengol' means 'Rajdanda' and it must be replaced by a copy of the constitution."
Calling the 'Sengol' a 'Rajdanda', 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."
"The adoption of the Constitution marked the beginning of democracy in the country, and the Constitution is its symbol. The BJP government in its last term installed 'sengol' next to the Speaker's chair. Sengol is a Tamil word that means sceptre. Rajdand also means the king's stick. We have become independent after the age of kings. Now, every man and woman who is an eligible voter chooses the government to run this country. So will the country run by Constitution or by a king's stick?" he told news agency ANI.
The former Uttar Pradesh minister demanded that the 'sengol' be replaced by a copy of the Constitution to "save democracy".
The SP leader's comments drew reactions from the leaders across the party lines. Although the INDIA bloc leaders supported the move, the BJP-led NDA slammed Chaudhary for demeaning the Tamil culture.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore also supported Chaudhary's demand, criticizing the government for creating high drama during the Parliament inauguration. "This is a good suggestion from our Samajwadi Party colleague," said Tagore.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, meanwhile slammed the remark of an SP MP on the traditional sceptre 'Sengol', calling it "disgraceful".
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.
'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.