AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks during his oath as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday sparked a massive political row. After being sworn in as an MP, Owaisi expressed solidarity with the war-torn region of Palestine, attracting criticism.
The five-time Hyderabad MP, after taking his oath, raised slogans of ‘Jai Telangana’ and ‘Jai Palestine’. However, Owaisi defended his remarks by saying that “empty threats” over his words in the Parliament will not scare him.
Owaisi said, “Let them do whatever they want. I also know a little bit about the Constitution. These empty threats will not work on me.”
Earlier, Owaisi defended the ‘Jai Palestine’ slogan in Parliament by saying that there is no provision in the Constitution of India that states that his remarks are condemnable. This comes shortly after several political leaders suggested that he should be disqualified from the Parliament for his remarks.
After taking oath as an MP, Owaisi told ANI, “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?”
On being asked the reason for saying ‘Jai Palestine’, Owaisi said, “Waha ki awaam mahroom hai (The people there are destitute). Mahatma Gandhi has said so many things regarding Palestine and one can go and read.”
On Tuesday, Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that raising slogans for another country while taking oath in the Parliament is inappropriate.
The Union minister said, “We do not have any enmity with Palestine or any other country. The issue is that while taking the oath, is it proper for any member to raise the slogan praising another country.”
Rijiju added further, “We have no problem with any other country but we will have to check the rules if it is appropriate. Some members have come to me and complained about raising Palestine’s slogan at the end of the oath.”
(With inputs from ANI)
