'Jai Shri Ram' slogans echo in Parliament as Oppn MPs take oath

Many newly-elected Opposition members were at the receiving end of intense sloganeering as they took their oath in Lok Sabha. 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans welcomed AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

New Delhi: Chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mat Ki Jai' greeted many leading Opposition leaders on Tuesday as they took oath as members of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Congress leader and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi took oath as a Lok Sabha member as BJP backbenchers shouted slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.

Sonia Gandhi, the only Congress member to be elected from Uttar Pradesh, took the oath in Hindi. As she was returning to her seat, some BJP members sarcastically remarked aloud: "Thanks for taking the oath in Hindi."

However, the loudest slogans were reserved for All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

As the Hyderabad MP approached the Speaker's podium, some of the members, apparently from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), began shouting the slogans.

Owaisi, however, remained unperturbed, and rather mocked the members by gesturing to them to keep shouting.

After taking his oath in Urdu, he said: "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind."

"Today, I was welcomed with some slogans when I stood up to take my oath on the Constitution of India," he tweeted later.

Read: Owaisi replies 'Allahu Akbar' as MPs chant 'Jai Shri Ram' in Lok Sabha