How did Sengol end up in pvt residence of Pt Nehru, BJP MP Jethmalani demands official probe

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, May 29

The Sengol debate appears far from over even though the historical sceptre that symbolised the process transfer of power from the British to India in 1947 stands suitable restored to its due glory and installed in a special enclosure near the chair of Lok Sabha Speaker in the new Parliament complex inaugurated by the prime minister on Sunday.

Nominated BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani pm Monday stoked further debate on the Sengol by demanding a probe by the Home Ministry into how the sceptre ended up in Anand Bhavan, Allahabad, the private residence of late prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, and who gifted the piece to Nehru.

It was only later that the Sengol described as a walking stick for Nehru landed in the Allahabad Museum from Anand Bhavan.

Jethmalani said some mystifying issues persist about the Sengol particularly in the light of the fact that the Congress has denied the government  narrative about its origins: “Who “gifted” the Sengol to Pt Nehru?  When was the gift made to Nehru? Is there a deed evidencing the gift? Did the gift need to be deposited with the toshakhana? Who was responsible for labelling the gift as a walking stick for Nehru? Was the 5ft Sengol capable of being used as a walking stick? The Tamil inscription on the Sengol clearly establishes that it was crafted in 1947. Why would anyone gift a walking stick to Nehru who was a robust 58-year-old in 1947 with no walking disabilities? The Sengol was lodged in Anand Bhavan, the private  residence of the Nehrus since 1947 till it was moved to the Allahabad museum. If this was state property and not a personal gift who was responsible for this misappropriation? What do the records of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund in which trust Anand Bhavan vests disclose about the ownership of the Sengol?” Jethmalani posed nine queries today.          

He said since the it behoves the Union Home Ministry to conduct an inquiry and get to the root of the matter.                                       

“I ask these questions out of my deep respect for the late Pandit Nehru whose 59th death anniversary we all recalled on  May 27 in the hope that his name is not being misused posthumously by those responsible for his estate or any others, “ Jethmalani tweeted.

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