All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has created an intense political controversy on Tuesday with his remarks following his swearing-in as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha. After taking an oath in Urdu, he raised the AIMIM’s Muslim slogan, lauded his state of Telangana, and showed solidarity with the Palestinian territory wrecked by conflict.
The chair removed the five-time MP from Hyderabad’s epilogue from the official record after hearing strong objections from the Treasury benches.
The presiding officer at the time, BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, gave members the assurance that no remarks made outside of the official oath would be recorded. It was further verified by Protem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab that the only thing being formally recorded was the oath or affirmation.
Owaisi, however, defended his remarks while speaking to reporters outside Parliament: “Other members are also saying different things. Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Jai Palestine, and Jai Telangana, are what I said. How is it wrong? Tell me the provisions 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.”
“They are oppressed people,” Owaisi remarked in response to a question about why he brought up Palestine.
Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, meanwhile, has written to the Home Minister’s office to express her disapproval of his remarks and to urge that action must be taken against him. Additionally, she asked the pro-tem Speaker to call on Owaisi to retake the oath.
AAP’s Swati Maliwal raised a slogan during the reading of the oath in a similar occurrence in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, and the Chairman told her to retake it.
Following the 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did so on Monday at the opening session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Owaisi was one of the few remaining MPs to take the oath of office today. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, also took an oath today while holding a copy of the Constitution.
The current dispute around the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election parallels the last debate. The INDIA bloc chose to propose eight-time MP K Suresh for the Speaker position this morning, undermining the BJP’s attempts to come to an agreement on Om Birla’s reappointment.
Elections for the lower house speaker will take place for the first time; earlier, the opposition and the ruling party had worked together to pick the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
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