All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi stirred controversy on Tuesday by concluding his oath-taking in the 18th Lok Sabha with the slogan “Jai Palestine”.
Owaisi, who was re-elected as MP from Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, took the oath in Urdu and ended it with slogans — ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’.
The unexpected inclusion of “Jai Palestine” immediately drew objections from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, including Shobha Karandlaje. Radha Mohan Singh, who was presiding over the swearing-in ceremony, announced that the controversial slogan would be expunged from the official records.
Despite the assurances from Singh, the BJP MPs continued to protest for a brief period.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy later criticised Owaisi’s slogan calling it “absolutely wrong”.
“This is against the rules of the House. He does not say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ while living in India…. People should understand that he does unconstitutional work while living in the country,” Reddy told the media.
In response to the uproar, Owaisi defended his choice of words, questioning the basis of the objections raised by BJP members.
“Other members are also saying different things... I said ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’. How is it wrong? Tell me the provision of the Constitution [that I violated]. You should also listen to what others said. I said what I had to. Read what Mahatma Gandhi had said about Palestine,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi, who has emerged as a powerful voice of Muslims in the country in recent years, defeated his BJP rival Madhavi Latha by a big margin of over 3.38 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections, in what is seen as a testament to the iron grip of the Owaisi family over the old city.
Unfazed by criticism that he is “B team of BJP”, Owaisi has been making efforts to expand the party's footprint across the country albeit with limited success.
A sworn critic of BJP and RSS, Owaisi has been vociferous in his opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register for Citizens and National Population Register.
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