All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi sparked controversy on Tuesday by concluding his oath-taking in the 18th Lok Sabha with the slogan “Jai Palestine.” Re-elected as the MP from Hyderabad, Owaisi took the oath in Urdu and ended it with the slogans “Jai Bheem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine.” The inclusion of “Jai Palestine” drew immediate objections from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, including Shobha Karandlaje. Radha Mohan Singh, who was presiding over the swearing-in ceremony, announced that the controversial slogan would be expunged from the official records. Despite Singh’s assurances, BJP MPs continued to protest briefly.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy later criticized Owaisi’s slogan, calling it “absolutely wrong.”

“This is 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 stated. In response, Owaisi defended his choice of words, questioning the objections raised by BJP members.

“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 responded. Owaisi, who has become a prominent voice for Muslims in the country, defeated his BJP rival Madhavi Latha by a significant margin of over 3.38 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections, demonstrating the strong influence of the Owaisi family in the old city.

Unfazed by criticisms labeling him as the “B team of BJP,” Owaisi has been working to expand the party’s presence across the country, albeit with limited success. A vocal critic of BJP and RSS, Owaisi has strongly opposed the CAA, NRC, and NPR.