‘Jai Palestine’: Why an Indian MP denounced the Gaza war at his inauguration | News on the Indian election 2024

The normally sober swearing-in ceremony for Indian parliamentarians has become a source of controversy after veteran opposition MP Asaduddin Owaisi chanted “Jai Palestine” after taking his oath on Tuesday.

The Sanskrit word “jai” literally means “victory,” but is also understood in a broader sense as support. So Owaisi’s slogan was essentially: “Long live Palestine.”

Parliamentarians from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party accused him of breaking his constitutional promise by showing what they saw as loyalty to another country. Owaisi denies the charge.

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

What exactly did Owaisi say?

Owaisi took oath of office as a member of parliament along with 542 other MPs who were declared winners of India’s most important general election.

Dressed in a white kurta, Owaisi took the podium in Parliament amid scattered applause from other parliamentarians before reading his oath of office in Urdu.

“I, Asaduddin Owaisi, being elected a member of the Lok Sabha, do swear in the name of Allah that I will be faithful and solemnly loyal to the Constitution of India. I will uphold the supremacy and integrity of India and will loyally discharge the duties entrusted to me in this office,” he vowed in Urdu. The Lok Sabha is the directly elected lower house of the Indian Parliament.

He then chanted “Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Filisteen” before stepping down from the podium.

“Jai Bhim” is a pro-Dalit slogan referring to Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Dalit founding father of the Indian Constitution. Dalits have always been at the bottom of India’s complex caste hierarchy. Meem is a part of the Urdu alphabet that is transliterated in English similarly to “M,” and Owaisi is believed to have been referring to his party, the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which is mostly known as MIM – pronounced “meem.”

Telangana is the state where Owaisi hails from and Filisteen is the Urdu and Hindi word for Palestine.

Sworn in as a member of the Lok Sabha for the fifth time. Inshallah, I will continue to seriously address the issues of India’s marginalized communities.pic.twitter.com/OloVk6D65B

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) 25 June 2024

Who is Owaisi?

Asaduddin Owaisi is a five-time Member of the Lok Sabha for the Hyderabad constituency in Telangana since 2004. He comes from a family of politicians and his father Salahuddin Owaisi was a six-time Member of Parliament for Hyderabad from 1984 to 2004.

Owaisi has also been the leader of AIMIM since 2008. The regional party’s manifesto advocates the rights of Muslims, the broader rights of all religious minorities, and the rights of Dalits. Owaisi is also known for his fiery speeches in Parliament.

In this election, the AIMIM was neither part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), nor did it have an alliance partner in the opposition INDIA alliance led by the Congress Party.

Could the Indian MP be punished?

By mentioning Palestine and thereby effectively provoking Israel’s war against Gaza, Owaisi was criticized and accused of signaling his loyalty to Palestine.

BJP members argued that Owaisi had disregarded the Indian constitution. BJP’s information technology chief Amit Malviya posted on X on Tuesday: “As per existing rules, Asaduddin Owaisi can be disqualified from membership of the Lok Sabha if he demonstrates his affiliation with a foreign state, namely Palestine.”

Malviya published an excerpt from Article 102 of the Indian Constitution, which sets out the grounds for expulsion from Parliament, highlighting a clause in the article which states that a person will be disqualified if he shows his affiliation with a foreign state.

According to the existing rules, Asaduddin Owaisi can be disqualified from membership of the Lok Sabha if he shows his affiliation with another state, namely Palestine.
Please note: @LokSabhaSectt pic.twitter.com/wh7bYbep8p

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) 25 June 2024

Other experts, however, said Owaisi had not broken any rules – even if, like many other politicians, he deviated from convention on Tuesday.

“I don’t think Owaisi can be disqualified because during the swearing-in ceremony almost all the members shouted different slogans,” political analyst and Hindi professor Apoorvanand told Al Jazeera.

Apoorvanand explained that in previous elections, parliamentarians would usually confine themselves to taking their oath of office when sworn in. “This time, the election was different and there were different issues at stake. The atmosphere was different and members felt the need to express themselves.” The election was a tense, heated contest between the BJP and the Congress-led INDIA Alliance, with Modi’s party failing to win a majority for the first time after a decade in power but managing to form a government in a coalition with allies.

Apoorvanand also pointed out that Owaisi’s Palestine song came after he took the oath of office – pledging allegiance to India.

“Praising Palestine is not against the Indian Constitution. You have taken the oath and if you say anything after that, it will not be recorded,” Apoorvanand said.

Even Radha Mohan Singh of the BJP, who was in the chair, tried to pacify the angry BJP MPs and assure them that the slogans raised after the swearing-in would not be recorded.

However, local media reported that Parliament Minister Kiren Rijiju said he would review the regulations on the matter.

Have other MPs made controversial statements?

Chhatra Pal Singh Gangwar of the BJP concluded his oath of office with “Jai Hindu Rashtra” (Long live the Hindu nation). The BJP’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has long demanded that India be made a Hindu state.

Gangwar’s chant drew protest slogans from MPs belonging to the INDIA alliance. India is constitutionally a secular state. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav opposed the chant, saying it was “against the values ​​of the Constitution”.

Another BJP member, Atul Garg, said “Narendra Modi Zindabad” (long live Modi) after taking oath of office. Amid applause from the opposition, he returned to the podium and said “Dr. Hedgewar Zindabad,” referring to Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS.

Did some members of parliament take their oath of office with a copy of the Constitution?

Many opposition MPs, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Yadav, took the oath of office while holding a copy of the Indian Constitution in protest against the alleged excesses of the BJP under Modi.

However, Modi and other BJP leaders hit back, accusing the Congress party of hypocrisy. Tuesday marked the 1975 anniversary of the imposition of national emergency by then Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During the emergency, which was lifted in 1977, thousands of critics and political activists were arrested, civil liberties were suspended and the press faced harsh action.

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

Apoorvanand argued that the myriad debates that erupted during Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony pointed to a more complex reality facing India.

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