During his ongoing US visit, Congress’s disqualified MP Rahul Gandhi yesterday not only mocked Sengol and Hindu culture but also claimed the New Parliament building is an attempt by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to distract the public from real issues. He was speaking at a gathering of Congress supporters in San Francisco during his week-long visit.
Gandhi was replying to a query from a member of the Silicon Valley Christian Community who identified himself as one Mr Jay. He asked Gandhi’s view on the Lok Sabha seats being increased to 888. He insinuated that PM Modi is working on a plan (of delimitation) that would be based entirely on population and it will tilt the orientation towards the highly populous states which will get the lion’s share of the revenues and other benefits. He asked Gandhi about his views on the possibility of minorities becoming more vulnerable and so.
Gandhi said he was not aware how they [BJP] came up with the number 800 and what were the criteria used for it. He said, “These things should be done flippantly. India is a conversation. India is a negotiation between its languages. Between its people. Between its histories and cultures and that negotiation has to be fair for all states.”
"Janeudhari" Shri #RahulGandhi Ji conveniently mocking Prime Minister and Hindu culture on foreign soil.
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) May 31, 2023
“BJP cannot really discuss them ["real issues"] so they had to do the whole septa thing, lying down and all that. Aren’t you happy I am not lying down”? ~ Rahul Gandhi… pic.twitter.com/qkpSf5ql0o
Someone from the public informed him that it is based on population, to which he replied, “It depends on how the ratios change. It is currently based on population but you will have to see how the ratios change.”
By this point, Gandhi was visibly uncomfortable by the question and chose to mock the Sengol, New Parliament Building and PM Modi in one go. He said, “I think the Parliament House these are a distraction. The real issues in India are unemployment, price rise, the spread of anger and hatred, a crumbling education system, the price of Education [and] the price of Health Care. These are the real issues. BJP can’t really discuss them so then they have to do the whole skepta [Sceptre or Sengol] thing, you know lying down and doing all that. Aren’t you happy I’m not lying down? [he smiled and the audience applauded].”
First of all, he called Sengol ‘Skepta or something’. It is highly doubtful that Rahul Gandhi is unaware of how to pronounce Sengol. His party has been talking extensively about Sengol’s history from their point of view. The Sengol was placed in Anand Bhavan, the residence of the Nehru family located in Prayagraj. It was given to the Indian Government in the 1970s. Despite the Sacred Sengol or Sceptre being the hot topic of discussion in the last few days, Gandhi chose to pretend to be uninformed about it.
Interestingly, Gandhi was wearing Tilak on his forehead during his speech. It is important to point out that wearing Tilak (which might have been placed upon his arrival by the local Congress workers to welcome him) is a Hindu ritual. While donning a Hindu identity, Gandhi mocked Sacred Sengol which has a long history of being associated with justice in Hindu culture, especially in the Chola Empire. Not to forget, Sengol was placed in the Parliament in the presence of High Priests of various adheenams from South India.
Furthermore, he mocked the New Parliament Building and suggested it was a way to distract the public from the “real issues”. On the contrary, the reality behind the new building was that Congress itself had commissioned it during UPA-II. The old building is in bad shape and it constantly requires repairs, and facilities in the century-old building are sufficient for the functioning of the parliament of the world’s largest democracy.
Moreover, delimitation is scheduled for 2026 which will increase the number of MPs, and there was no space for the new MPs. The old building was not made for modern infrastructure and technology. Also, it was not earthquake-proof. All these problems have been addressed in the new building.
Gandhi did not stop there. He also mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for offering Sashtang Pranam to the sacred Sengol before its installation at the New Parliament building and reduced it to “lying down”. He said, “Aren’t you happy I’m not lying down?” The egoistic comment by Rahul Gandhi showed how much unaware he is of the Hindu culture. Sashtang Pranam is one of the ways to wipe out the ego. A Hindu kills his or her ego and recognises Bhagwan as the Supreme Power while offering Sashtang Pranam. It is a symbol of complete submission to the Bhagwan.
The Delimitation Commission of India will perform a delimitation exercise
Mr Jay and Rahul Gandhi both talked about delimitation as if it was being done by the Modi Government. In reality, the delimitation exercise is done by an independent body known as the Delimitation Commission of India.
The Commission is powerful enough to the level that its decision cannot be challenged in any court of law. The orders of delimitation are laid before Lok Sabha and respective State Assemblies but they do not have the power to modify any part of the order. The first delimitation exercise was performed in 1952 based on the 1951 census. At that time 494 Lok Sabha constituencies were formed. Later, the 1963 delimitation as per the 1961 census, the 1973 delimitation as per the 1971 census and the 2002 delimitation (with no change in LS seats) based on the 2001 census were performed.
After 2002, no delimitation exercise has been performed. The next delimitation is scheduled for 2026, if not postponed. Currently, there are 543 Lok Sabha seats. It has been speculated by several experts that the number of Lok Sabha seats may cross 800 depending on the current population of the country. However, there has been no official statement for the same by the Government of India. The New Parliament has 888 seats in Lok Sabha, but that does not mean the number will be increased to 888 in 2026.
The building has been built keeping the future possibilities of increasing the seat number in mind. Also, the Lok Sabha will also house joint sessions of the parliament. Whatever numbers are floating in media at this moment are only speculations.
