‘Jai Palestine’: Why an Indian MP called for Gaza war end while taking guarantee | india election 2024 information

The usual swearing-in process where Indian MPs withdraw their guarantees of office has become a problem, with veteran opposition lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi chanting “Jai Palestine” while reading out the pledge on Tuesday.

In Sanskrit, the honorific “jai” actually means victory, but it is more widely used to denote backup, so in fact, Owaisi’s slogan was: “Long live Palestine.”

Lawmakers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have accused him of violating his constitutional commitment by, according to them, demonstrating commitment to another community – a charge Owaisi has denied.

So what actually happened, why did Owaisi’s words become controversial, what else happened in the Indian Parliament on Tuesday and what’s next for Owaisi?

What did Owaisi say after all?

Owaisi took his oath as a Member of Parliament (MP) along with 542 alternate MLAs after being declared the winner of India’s massive nationwide election.

Owaisi, wearing a white kurta, reached the Parliament stage amid scattered applause from other MPs before reading his statement in Urdu.

“I, Asaduddin Owaisi, elected as a Member of the Lok Sabha, do swear in the name of Allah that I will be honest and loyal to the Constitution of India. I will uphold the supremacy and integrity of India and fulfill my duties assigned to me under this post with devotion,” he pledged in Urdu. Lok Sabha is the most elected lower house of the Parliament of India.

Before leaving the stage, he chanted “Jai Bhim, Jai Mim, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine”.

“Jai Bhim” is a pro-Dalit slogan that refers to Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Dalit initiator of the Indian Charter. Dalits have traditionally been at the base of India’s complex caste hierarchy. Mim is the part of the Urdu alphabet that closely follows the letter “M” in English, and Owaisi was believed to belong to his birthday party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), commonly known as MIM. Recognized in – Pronounced “meem”.

Telangana is the form from which Owaisi comes, and Palestine is the Urdu and Hindi term of respect for Palestine.

Who is Owaisi?

Asaduddin Owaisi has been a five-time Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad constituency of Telangana since 2004. He comes from a political community and his father Salahuddin Owaisi was a six-time MP from Hyderabad from 1984 to 2004. ,

Owaisi is also the president of AIMIM since 2008. The manifesto of the regional party supports Muslim rights, comprehensive rights of all religious minorities as well as Dalit rights. Owaisi is also known for his powerful oratory skills in Parliament.

During this election, AIMIM was neither part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), nor aligned with the opposition Indian Alliance led by the Congress Party.

Can the Indian MP be punished?

In provoking Palestine, and successfully implementing Israel’s war on Gaza, Owaisi has drawn complaints and accusations that he has signaled his allegiance to Palestine.

BJP participants argued that Owaisi had violated the Indian Charter. BJP’s data era chief, Amit Malviya, posted on Twitter on Tuesday: “As per existing rules, Asaduddin Owaisi can be disqualified from his Lok Sabha membership for displaying allegiance to a foreign state, that is Palestine. Is”.

Malviya posted a snippet of Article 102 of the Indian Charter, which provides for disqualification of agricultural land from Parliament, outlining a clause in that article that claims a person has to obey foreign law. may be disqualified.

But other professionals said Owaisi had broken the wrong rule — even if he strayed from convention like many alternative politicians on Tuesday.

“I don’t think (Owaisi can be disqualified) because almost all the members raised different slogans while taking the oath,” political analyst and Hindi school teacher Apoorvanand told Al Jazeera.

Apoorvanand pointed out that compared to previous elections, at the age of taking the oath of office, MPs will often limit themselves to guarantees. “This time, the election was different and different issues were at stake. The atmosphere became different and members felt the need to express themselves.” The election was a tense, tense game between the Indian coalition led by the BJP and the Congress, with Modi’s party winning a majority in power for the first time. Failed, but managed to gain central power. In alliance with allies.

Apoorvanand also said that Owaisi’s Palestine slogan had come after he had completed his legal guarantee – in which he pledged allegiance to India.

“Cheering Palestine is not a violation of the Constitution of India. You have taken the oath and after that, if you say anything, it is not on record,” Apoorvanand said.

Even BJP’s Radha Mohan Singh, who held the Chairman’s seat, tried to assure the angry BJP MPs that the slogans raised during the swearing-in would not be impugned on record.

However, local media reported that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he would review the rules related to the issue.

Did the alternative MPs consider the remaining points controversial?

BJP’s Chhatra Mitra Singh Gangwar ended his promise with “Jai Hindu Rashtra” (Long live the Hindu community). The BJP’s ideological guru, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has long called for a Hindu transformation of India.

After Gangwar’s slogan, MPs associated with the Indian alliance raised protest slogans. India is constitutionally a worldly community. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav objected to the chant, saying “it is against the values ​​of the Constitution.”

Another BJP member, Atul Garg, mentioned “Narendra Modi zindabad” (long live Modi), then took his guarantee. Heckled by the opposition, he returned to the stage and said “Dr Hedgewar Zindabad” in reference to RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.

Did some MPs pull the guarantee with the charter’s brochure?

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi and several opposition MLAs, including Yadav, took the guarantee age while holding a brochure of the Indian Charter in their hands as a sign of protest against the alleged excesses of the BJP under the Modi leadership. ,

Then, Modi and alternative BJP leaders clashed once again, accusing Congress of hypocrisy. Tuesday also marked the anniversary of the invocation of the national issue by then Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. During the period when the issue was raised in 1977, hundreds of critics and political activists were arrested. Freedoms were suspended, and the clique faced harsh crackdowns.

“Those who imposed emergency have no right to express their love for our Constitution,” Modi wrote in an ex-post on Tuesday.

Apoorvanand argued that the numerous debates during Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony point to a more complex truth facing Bharat.

“Unlike previous years, the election is not over yet,” he said. “This fight continues and does not end with the announcement of the results.”