“Everyone should embrace this symbol…” Shashi Tharoor differs over party’s stand on ‘Sengol’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated new Parliament building to the nation on May 28. He installed the historic ‘Sengol’ near Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair in the Parliament. However, 20 opposition parties including Congress decided to skip the inaugural ceremony event. They demanded that the unveiling of the new Parliament building should have been done by President Droupadi Murmu. Meanwhile, going against its party line Congress leader Acharya Pramod has called out the Opposition for boycotting the inauguration. Acharya Pramod advised the Opposition to oppose PM Modi but not the entire nation while urging them to reconsider their decision. Similarly, the installation of the historic ‘Sengol’ (sceptre) has become the latest flashpoint between Congress and BJP. The BJP claimed that the “Sengol” was handed over to Jawaharlal Nehru by Mountbatten to mark the transfer of power from British to Indians. Congress denied this argument and claimed that the sceptre was presented to Nehru by a religious institution in then Madras. Keeping aside the arguments, Congress Leader Tharoor said that everyone should “embrace the symbol from the past to affirm the values of the present”Although some Congress leaders, come out hard against the Centre accusing it of spreading "false narratives". Tharoor's stand is quite different from what other party leaders have taken on the issue of 'Sengol'