Home Minister Amit Shah hit out at the Congress over its claim that there is no documented evidence of Lord Mountbatten, C Rajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru describing the ‘Sengol’ as a symbol of the transfer of power by the British to India.

Several top BJP leaders and Ministers have also launched fresh attacks on the Congress and other Opposition parties for announcing that they would boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

“Why does the Congress party hate Indian traditions and culture so much? A sacred Sengol was given to Pandit Nehru by a holy Saivite Mutt from Tamil Nadu to symbolize India’s freedom but it was banished to a museum as a ‘walking stick’,” he tweeted, accusing the grand old party of heaping “another shameful insult”.