Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning installed a sceptre or sengol in the new Parliament building amid religious rituals by priests, harking back to a tradition associated with the Chola kings to consecrate the house of democracy.
Modi prostrated himself before the sceptre and then carried it inside the new Lok Sabha chamber, followed by a procession of priests chanting mantras.
He placed the sceptre beside the Speaker’s chair, apparently seeking to stress the primacy of Hindu culture and traditions in amulti-religious and secular country’s seat of democracy.
The Prime Minister then formally inaugurated the new Parliament building. This was followed by multi-faith prayers, held on the premises but outside the Lok Sabha chamber where the sengol was placed by Modi.
Modi returned to the new Lok Sabha chamber around noon amid loud chants of “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Modi, Modi” to address the guests from various fields and the assembled MPs, chief ministers and leaders of political parties.
He received a standing ovation as he walked up to the pedestal along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh.
In his address, Modi said that during the rule of the Cholas in the south (a millennium ago), the sengol or sceptre was seen as a symbol of kartavyapath (the path of duty), sevapath (the path of service) and rashtrapath (the path of the nation).
He said the sengol had symbolised the transfer of power from the British in 1947 — a claim historians and scholars have contested over the past few days.
The Prime Minister said that under the guidance and blessings of priests from Tamil Nadu (where the sengol had been made), he had installed the “sacred sengol” inside the Lok Sabha. He appeared to claim credit for “restoring the dignity and honour of the sacred sceptre”.