“Why is President Murmu sidelined?” Cong leader Venugopal hits back at Amit Shah ahead of new Parliament building inauguration

New Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI): Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a tirade at the Congress party for banishing ‘Sengol’ to a museum as a ‘walking stick’, Congress leader KC Venugopal on Friday said that the minister should first answer the question why President Droupadi Murmu has not been invited to inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28.

“This is an issue of sidelining the President of India, who is also the first tribal woman President. Why don’t they answer this question?” the Congress General Secretary told ANI.
“What is the disqualification of the President of India to inaugurate and why they didn’t invite the President of India [to inaugurate],” he added.

This comes after, Shah said that the ‘Sengol’ given to former Prime Minister Pandit Nehru was banished to a museum as a ‘walking stick’.

Shah in a series of tweets questioned and asked why Congress hates Indian traditions and culture.

“Why does the Congress party hate Indian traditions and culture so much? A sacred Sengol was given to Pandit Nehru by a holy Saivite Mutt from Tamil Nadu to symbolize India’s freedom but it was banished to a museum as a ‘walking stick’,” Tweeted Shah.

He further said that Congress needs to reflect on its behaviour as the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a holy Saivite Mutt, spoke about the importance of the Sengol at the time of India’s freedom.

“Now, Congress has heaped another shameful insult. The Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a holy Saivite Mutt, itself spoke about the importance of the Sengol at the time of India’s freedom. Congress is calling Adheenam’s history BOGUS! Congress needs to reflect on their behaviour,” read his tweet.

PM Modi will dedicate the new Parliament building to the country on May 28.

‘Sengol’, which marked the symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India, will be kept as a legacy in the new Parliament building.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a decision to adopt the Sengol as a national symbol of the Amrit Kaal. The new building of Parliament will witness the very same event, with Adheenam (Priests) repeating the ceremony and vesting the PM with the Sengol.

The same Sengol from 1947 will be installed by the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha, prominently close to the Speaker’s podium. It will be displayed for the Nation to see and will be taken out on special occasions.

Notably, a total of 21 opposition parties, including Congress, have decided to boycott the PM’s decision to preside over the inauguration ceremony instead of President Droupadi Murmu.

The opposition said that the inauguration of the building without President Droupadi Murmu “insults the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution”.

Meanwhile, amid the boycott call by the opposition, the Centre has received a confirmed list of 25 political parties, including some which are not a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that will participate in the inauguration ceremony.

Apart from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), several parties in the NDA including AIADMK, Apna Dal, the Republican Party of India, the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, NPP, and NPF have confirmed their attendance for the function on Sunday.

Several neutral parties, including Biju Janata Dal, TDP, and YSRCP will also be present for the inauguration.

Amongst the opposition parties, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bahujan Samajwadi Party and JDS will attend the function on Sunday.