The second day of oath-taking by the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha saw heated exchanges and tit-for-tat slogan-shouting as some of the senior-most Opposition members, including Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav took oath, as MPs.
Shafiqur Rahman Barq, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, objected to the Vande Mataram slogan and that immediately led to an uproar. Treasury Bench members demanded an apology from him.
When All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi came to take oath, he was greeted with chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram .
Smiling at the ruling party MPs, the Hyderabad MP gestured for more chants as he walked up for his oath-taking. Ending his oath in Urdu, he chanted, “ Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind .”
Mr. Owaisi had forgotten to sign the register but was prompted to do so.
“I think, it is good that they remember such things after seeing me. I hope they remember our Constitution and the deaths of children in Muzaffarpur as well. I will keep an eye on them,” he said outside the Lok Sabha.
Even Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the slogan-shouting when he asked BJP MP Arun Kumar Sagar, who had chanted Bharat Mata ki Jai twice, to raise the slogan one more time.
Mr. Kumar responded by saying he would do so if Mr. Gandhi could complete it by chanting Jai . The Congress chief and other Opposition MPs, in turn, chanted Jai Hind .
The most intense shouting was witnessed when members from West Bengal took oath. BJP MPs from the State chanted Jai Shri Ram that were countered by Joi Bangla, Joi Maa Kaali chants from the Trinamool members.
Earlier, when a DMK member hailed Periyar, Kalaingar, Gandhiji and Ambedkar, the Chair asked him to stick to the prescribed format.
One member from Tamil Nadu ended his oath by shouting “Long live secularism, long live India”.
Tuesday also also several film stars and celebrities ncluding Sunny Deol, Hema Malini and Ravi Kishan taking oath as MPs.
