New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday criticised the DMK MPs on the Sengol issue, saying the government has restored it to its rightful place, as she claimed that it was earlier used as a walking stick for former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 

While participating in the discussion on the no-confidence motion, she reacted to DMK MP K Kanimozhi's comments on the Sengol and imposition of Hindi.

Sitharaman said that the restoration of Sengol to its rightful position in the Lok Sabha by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a welcome move.

"I just want to highlight the fact that Sengol given to our first prime minister was also given by the Adheenams. The same party (DMK) has no objection when the sacred Sengol had been treated as walking stick of then prime minister Nehru. It was kept in a private house and it was used as a stick, not Sengol," Sitharaman claimed.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor objected to this, saying that it was not kept in a private house but in a museum.

On Wednesday, Kanimozhi while taking part in the no-confidence motion discussion, had sought to know whether the government was aware of the Pandiyan Sengol.

She also attacked the DMK for humiliating former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalitha in the state assembly in the 1980s.

DMK MPs strongly protested, saying that it was all drama.