All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi, known for his penchant for stirring controversies, sparked off yet another political row on Tuesday when he chanted ‘Jai Palestine’ while taking oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
He stoked a controversy by hailing conflict-hit West Asian country, “Jai Palestine”, sparking a huge uproar in the Lower House of the Parliament, and forcing the slogan to be expunged. Radha Mohan Singh, who was in the Chair at the time, assured the members that anything apart from the oath will not go on record.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he will check the rules regarding remarks. “We do not have any enmity with Palestine or any other country. The only issue is, while taking the oath, is it proper for any member to raise the slogan praising another country? We will have to check the rules. Some members have come to me and complained about the raising of the Palestine slogan at the end of oath,” he said.
However, later justifying his act, Owaisi, said that other members were saying different things during their oath-taking ceremony and asked how his hailing Palestine could be wrong.
“Other members are also saying different things…How is it wrong? Tell me the provision of the Constitution? You should also listen to what others say. I said what I had to. Read what Mahatma Gandhi had said about Palestine”. Asked why he mentioned Palestine, he said, “They are oppressed people.”
The five-time MP from Hyderabad, who defeated BJP’s Madhavi Lata by 3.3 lakh votes in the recent elections, concluded his oath, saying: “Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine”. Owaisi took his oath in Urdu. According to reports, a section of BJP MPs had chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as he went to take oath.
According to Article 102-1(d) in the Practice and Procedure of Parliament Book, Page 55, a member of the House can be disqualified if he/she is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State. As per the extant rules, Owaisi can be disqualified from his Lok Sabha membership for demonstrating adherence to a foreign State, that is Palestine.
