AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday concluded his oath as a member of the Lok Sabha by saying, "Jai Palestine." Owaisi defeated BJP's Madhavi Latha Kompella with a margin of 3,38,087 votes, marking his fifth consecutive victory from Hyderabad in Telangana.
During the swearing-in for the 18th Session of the Lok Sabha, Owaisi ended his oath with, "Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine." Following this, he posted on his official X handle, "Sworn in as a member of Lok Sabha for the fifth time. Inshallah, I will continue to raise issues of India's marginalized with sincerity."
Addressing the media, Owaisi stated, "Everyone is saying a lot of things... I just said 'Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine'...How is it against, show the provision in the Constitution?" He further explained his use of 'Jai Palestine' by saying, "The people there are destitute. Mahatma Gandhi has said so many things regarding Palestine and one can go and read."
The context of Owaisi's statement is the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, which has severely impacted Palestinian civilians. On June 22, at least 25 people were killed and 50 others were injured in Israeli attacks on tents for displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, as reported by the Gaza health ministry and Al Jazeera.
In a related development, the Israel Defense Forces reported that overnight airstrikes in Gaza killed several Hamas operatives involved in the October 7 attacks. These terrorists, who were based in school compounds in the Shati and Daraj Tuffah areas of northern Gaza, were also responsible for holding hostages and planning further attacks.
