Let us embrace this symbol from the past, says Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, differing from the party line, has taken a different view in the ‘sengol’ controversy. In his reaction to the ongoing controversy over the ‘sengol’ installed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the new Parliament, Tharoor said, “On the sengol controversy both sides have good arguments.”
He said the government rightly argues that the sceptre reflects a continuity of tradition by embodying sanctified sovereignty and the rule of dharma. However, he said, “the opposition rightly argues that the Constitution was adopted in the name of the people and that sovereignty abides in the people of India as represented in their Parliament, and is not a kingly privilege handed down by divine right.”
“The two positions are reconcilable if one simply drops the debatable red herring about the sceptre having been handed to Nehru by Mountbatten to symbolise the transfer of power, a story for which there is no proof,” Tharoor said in his tweet.
Tharoor added that “We should simply say that the sengol sceptre is a traditional symbol of power and authority, and by placing it in the Lok Sabha, India is affirming that sovereignty resides there and not with any monarch.” Let us embrace this symbol from the past to affirm the values of our present, he said.
But this has not been well received by the Congress camp since the party had taken a tough stand in the issue and stood away from the inauguration of the new Parliament building. Even though Tharoor had taken a different view from the party in the sengol issue, he too stayed away from the inauguration as per the party decision.
Congress leaders are set to come out against Tharoor for supporting the arguments of the BJP in the sengol controversy.