All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi concluded his oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha with 'Jai Palestine' on Tuesday. An uproar from the treasury benches led to the Chair striking Owaisi's mention of Palestine off record.
Owaisi, who won the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections 2024 frlm the Hyderabad seat of Telangana, starting his oath with an Islamic phrase and ended it with "Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine".
WATCH Owaisi's Oath
The oath-taking of newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha resumed on Tuesday, the second day of the first session of the Lower House of Parliament.
Among other prominent members to be sworn in were former Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane, Supriya Sule of the NCP, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena.
Pro-tem speaker Mahtab said that 262 newly elected members of the Lok Sabha took the oath on Monday and the rest will be sworn in on Tuesday.
Most of the members who were sworn in in the first hour of the day hail from Maharashtra and took the oath in Marathi while a few did it in English and Hindi.
Pro-tem speaker Lok Sabha had earlier on Tuesday reminded members not to deviate from the prescribed oath and read aloud only what was written on the paper they had been given.
AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi later said, "Everyone is saying a lot of things...I just said Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine...How it is against, show the provision in the Constitution..."
Amid Israel-Palestine conflict and former's war on Gaza launched after the October 7 seige by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Opposition has multiple times expressed solidarity with the Palestinians while the government of India has maintained a balance stance on the global issue.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs, "India's policy towards Palestine has been long standing and consistent. We have supported a negotiated two State solution, towards establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognized borders, living side by side in peace with Israel."
Reacting to AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi's words during his oath in Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "We do not have any enmity with Palestine or any other country. While taking the oath is it proper for any member to raise the slogan praising another country...We will have to check the rules if it is appropriate..."
