'Tamil voters rejected pretensions': Congress takes dig at PM-designate Modi over Sengol

NEW DELHI: Harking back to the Sengol controversy that erupted last year ahead of the Parliament building inauguration, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday hit out at the PM-designate Narendra Modi, claiming that "Modi's pretensions" got rejected by the Tamil electorate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"Remember May 28th, 2023? It was the day that Narendra Modi walked into the new Parliament building with the Sengol for which a August 15th 1947 history was fabricated- to not only justify Modi's pretensions of being Samrat but also to appeal to the Tamil electorate.That day itself, I had exposed Modi's fakery using archival material," Jairam Ramesh said.
"We now know the outcome of that drama. The Sengol remains a respected symbol of Tamil history but the Tamil electorate and indeed India's electorate has rejected Mr Modi's pretensions", he added.
The Congress leader took a dig at Narendra Modi ahead of his swearing-in as Prime Minister, calling him the leader of the Narendra Destructive Alliance (NDA). Jairam said the PM-designate, who "lacks all legitimacy", has been forced to bow to the Constitution.
"He has suffered a huge personal, political, and moral defeat. He has been forced to bow to the Constitution that he has subverted in the last decade. A vastly diminished ek tihaayi (one-third) Pradhan Mantri, now lacking all legitimacy, has managed to get himself sworn this evening, as the leader of the Narendra Destructive Alliance (NDA)," Jairam said.

The entire controversy over sengol raged after the BJP alleged that the Congress displayed disregard for Hindu traditions by calling the sacred "Sengol" a "golden stick gifted" to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and tucked it away in a museum.
The ceremonial sceptre was given to Nehru to symbolise the transfer of power from the British to India in August 1947. It was kept in the Nehru Gallery of the Allahabad Museum, the BJP had claimed.
Retorting to the BJP's assertions, Congress accused PM Modi and "his drumbeaters" of creating a "bogus" narrative about the "Sengol".
Congress said there was no documented evidence that the sceptre was given by the British to the first PM Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbol of the transfer of power.
It said Nehru’s own words about Allahabad Museum where it was kept suggested it was a cultural relic, while the best witnesses of the time, C Rajagopalachari and Lord Mountbatten, never said anything about the sengol being given by Mountbatten to Nehru.
The party said the "fake narrative of Whatsapp University" was fabricated to further BJP’s political designs in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK-Congress alliance surpassed their performance from 2019, securing all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, leaving the main opposition party, AIADMK, and the national giant BJP, stunned.
Tamil Nadu garnered significant attention due to the BJP's recent focus on the state. However, even with multiple visits from the Prime Minister himself, the BJP couldn't open its account in the state. The only positive aspect for the BJP was that its vote share reportedly reached 10.21%, its highest ever in Tamil Nadu.
The BJP contested in 23 constituencies and formed alliances with several regional parties, but none of their partners managed to make a significant impact.