New Delhi: The head of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai district has said that there is no clarity on whether the ‘Sengol’ or spectre now hanging in the new parliament building was presented to Lord Mountbatten before it was given to Jawaharlal Nehru in August 1947, The Hindu reported.Sri La Sri Ambalavana Desika Paramacharya Swamigal, the 24th head of Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, told the newspaper: “There is no clear information on it. I hear a short film was released in connection with that event. Some say the Sengol was given to Lord Mountbatten. The people, who belonged to that period also say the same thing.” He had been asked whether the Adheenam had evidence that the Sengol was given to Mountbatten before it was to Nehru on August 14, 1947.“What was the use in giving the Sengol to Lord Mountbatten? He was after all leaving India by handing all powers. It was Mr. Nehru, who mattered the most on that day,” he continued, when asked about the lack of documentary evidence on the Sengol ever having being given to Mountbatten.The Union government had claimed last month that the Sengol had represented the transfer of power from the British to independent India, and had been given by Lord Mountbatten to Nehru. The government’s docket on the subject also claimed that the Sengol was presented by a delegation deputed by the Adheenam to Mountbatten. However, several historians have questioned the veracity of these claims and said there is no documentary evidence for them.Reacting to this news report, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the BJP’s “FakeFactory stands exposed”.
