All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi stirred significant controversy on Tuesday during the 18th Lok Sabha’s oath-taking ceremony. Owaisi, re-elected as the MP for the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, concluded his oath with the slogan “Jai Palestine,” in addition to “Jai Bheem” and “Jai Telangana.”
The use of “Jai Palestine” immediately drew objections from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, notably Shobha Karandlaje. Radha Mohan Singh, who was overseeing the swearing-in ceremony, announced that the contentious slogan would be removed from the official records. Despite this assurance, BJP MPs continued their protests for a brief period.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy later criticized Owaisi’s slogan, calling it “absolutely wrong” and against the rules of the House. “He does not say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ while living in India… People should understand that he does unconstitutional work while living in the country,” Reddy told ANI.
In response, Owaisi defended his choice of words, questioning the basis of the objections. “Other members are also saying different things… I said ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’. How is it wrong? Tell me the provision of the Constitution [that I violated]. You should also listen to what others said. I said what I had to. Read what Mahatma Gandhi had said about Palestine,” Owaisi argued.
Owaisi, who has become a prominent voice for Muslims in India, recently secured a landslide victory over his BJP rival Madhavi Latha by more than 338,000 votes in the Lok Sabha elections, reinforcing the Owaisi family’s strong influence over Hyderabad’s old city.
Despite criticism that he is a “B team of BJP,” Owaisi continues to expand AIMIM’s reach across the country, albeit with limited success. A staunch critic of BJP and the RSS, Owaisi has been vocal in his opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the National Population Register (NPR).
As the controversy surrounding his slogan choice simmers, Owaisi remains undeterred, standing by his words and challenging his critics to point out any constitutional violations.