Parliament Budget Session: President Droupadi Murmu arrived in a buggy at the Parliament House to deliver her address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The president entered the House with the 'sengol' being carried in front of her. Sengol was carried and installed in her presence in the Parliament.
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The President was followed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What is Sengol?
Prime Minister Modi installed the sacred 'Sengol' from Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha chamber, right next to the Speaker's chair, in the new Parliament building after performing puja on May 28, 2023.
On August 14, 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru received the Sengol from Tamil Nadu in the presence of several leaders and top dignitaries. This symbolised the transfer of power from the Britishers to the people of an 'Independent India'. "Sengol" is a Tamil word derived from "semmai". In Tamil culture, 'Sengol' has huge importance since the time of the Chola dynasty.
It was kept in the Nehru Exhibition of the Allahabad Gallery and has been moved to Delhi for its establishment in the new structure of Parliament.
The historic Sengol kept in the new Parliament House is symbolic of the era of the Ramayana and Mahabharata era. In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata, at the coronation of Yudhishthir, a similar Sengol was given to him by his Guru. At that time, it was called Scepter or Dharamdand.
During the period of Ramayana and Mahabharata, when a king handed over the sceptre to his successor, you got the right to rule a certain area, give fruits and give punishments.
At the beginning of the 8th century, Sengol came into existence in Indian culture for the second time. The kings of the Chola Empire of South India made Sengol a symbol of handing over power to their successor. This tradition continued for 400 years i.e. till the 12th century.
The Nandi on the top of Sengol reminds the king of his religious devotion, ethics, dedication and stable mind. The ball-shaped design symbolizes the afterlife. Whoever becomes the king, whatever work he does, should not harm anyone in the whole world. The artwork of a woman on Sengol shows that she is a symbol of wealth. The king is not the possessor of wealth but the protector.
The Sengol in the hands of every successor is 5 feet long because all the subjects are equal. Therefore, its height was never tampered with.
When Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, transferred power to India, he gave a Sengol to Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbol of the transfer of power. However, that Sengol was kept at the Anand Bhavan in Prayagraj. On May 28, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building and a Sengol was near the Speaker's chair as a symbol of justice and equality.
Parliament Session
The final session of Parliament before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections commenced on Jaunary 31. President Droupadi Murmu addressed a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the newly constructed Parliament building. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is scheduled to present the interim budget on Thursday (February 1) during this significant budget session.
The interim budget typically takes care of the fiscal needs of the intervening period until a government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls. The budget session is likely to conclude on February 9. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi emphasised the cooperative environment and stated that the suspension of all 11 Rajya Sabha MPs has been lifted. Meanwhile, the government told floor leaders of various parties that it was ready to discuss every issue in the upcoming Budget session of Parliament.
