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Rediff.com  » News » How Owaisi reacted to 'Jai Shri Ram' chants in LS

How Owaisi reacted to 'Jai Shri Ram' chants in LS

Source: PTI
Last updated on: June 18, 2019 21:18 IST
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A virtual slogan-shouting contest between the treasury and opposition benches overshadowed the second round of oath taking by members in the 17th Lok Sabha on Tuesday with some raising religious slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Allahu Akbar' and one MP chanting 'Inquilab Zindabad'.

IMAGE: AIMIM MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi takes oath as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha. Photograph: PTI Photo

As the linguistic diversity was on fully display in a repeat of the opening day of the maiden session of the new Lok Sabha, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav were among the top leaders who took the oath.

 

Over 200 MPs were administered the oath by pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar, a seven-term Bharatiya Janata Party MP. On Monday, 320 MPs took oath. Some members in the existing House strength of 542 who missed the ceremony will take the oath later.

As members kept engaging in raillery, the sloganeering went unabated when they ignored the Chair's direction to refrain from raising the slogans.

WATCH: Owaisi concludes oath with "Jai Bhim! Takbir! Allahu Akbar! Jai Hind!"

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi was greeted with slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' from the treasury benches when the Hyderabad MP moved to take his oath.

After taunting the saffron camp with hand gestures to continue with their sloganeering, Owaisi responded by saying 'Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind' after he read out his oath.

'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogans were also raised while United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi took oath in Hindi.

Sonia's son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi appeared to be capturing the moment on his mobile phone from the opposition benches.

While there was loud thumping of desks by the Congress members, voices were heard from the BJP benches thanking Sonia for taking oath in Hindi.

Some members especially from West Bengal began their oath with sloganeering despite the presiding officer ruling that no slogans will go on record.

When the members, especially those belonging to Trinamool Congress, took oath, those from the treasury benches taunted them with 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan.

TMC members countered with slogans like 'Jai Hind', 'Jai Bengal', 'Jai Maa Durga' and 'Jai Mamata'.

IMAGE: Newly-elected BJP MP from Mathura, Hema Malini takes oath as a member on the second day of the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, at Parliament House in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo

Kalyan Banerjee recited 'Durga Path' after concluding his oath while his TMC colleague Abu Taher Khan began his oath with 'Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar- Rahim' and ended with 'Allahu Akbar'.

As West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee's name was called for oath, BJP members chanted 'Jai Shri Ram'. Responding to chanting by treasury benches, he said even Modiji is not so much popular in the House.

When another TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was also greeted with 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan, she chanted 'Jai Kali Ma' several times.

After taking oath, she shouted 'Jai Hind, Jai Bangla' once again, almost matching the decibel level of the BJP MPs.

BJP's Devendra Singh Bhole from Uttar Pradesh began with 'Om Namah Shivay' chant.

BJP's Ravi Kishan, a Bhopuri actor-turned MP from Gorakhpur, took oath in a dramatic style, adding pauses with emphasis as he read the text. He chanted 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Guru Gorakhnath Ki Jai.'

While many BJP MPs ended their oath with chants of 'Bharat mata ki jai' and 'Jai Shri Ram', Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, objected to Vande Mataram slogan, drawing protests from members of treasury benches who demanded an apology from him. Barq claimed Vande Mataram is against Islam.

WATCH: Hema Malini takes oath as a Member of Parliament

Bahujan Samaj Party member Shyam Singh Yadav concluded his oath with 'Jai Bheem, Jai Bharat and Jai Samajwad'.

The Chair repeated in vain to the members not to raise slogans.

Rahul Gandhi also went on to ask BJP's Arun Kumar Sagar, who chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' twice, to raise the slogan "one more time".

Gandhi again repeated "one more time" after the next BJP MP Ajay Kumar also raised the slogan of "Bharat Mata ki Jai".

Kumar then retorted that he will raise the slogan again if Gandhi can complete it by chanting 'Jai' following which Gandhi said "Jai Hind" and was joined by other Congress members.

BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini concluded her oath with 'Radhey, Radhey' and a phrase from shloka in praise of Lord Krishna.

Aam Aadmi Party's lone MP Bhagwant Mann exchanged words with members of treasury benches as he ended his oath with the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad'.

When a Dravida Munnetra Kazagham member hailed Periyar, Kaliangar, and Ambedkar, the Chair said only the prescribed format should be taken on record.

Communist Party of India member K Subbarayan raised the slogan 'Long Live Secularism, Long Live India'.

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