Owaisi summoned for pro-Palestinian slogan in Parliament

A Bareilly court has ordered the Muslim supreme leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul, Asaduddin Owaisi, to appear before it for a plea that he had violated the Constitution by raising a slogan saluting Palestine in Parliament.

IMAGE: Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi speaks in the Lok Sabha. Photo: SansadTV/ANI Photo

Lawyer Virendra Gupta filed a petition against Owaisi over the AIMIM leader expressing support for Palestine during his oath-taking ceremony in Parliament.

Gupta said in his plea that the five-time MP had violated his constitutional and legal beliefs.

He told reporters on Tuesday that a petition was filed in the MP/MLA court on July 12 but it was rejected.

Gupta then filed a review petition in the court of the district judge.

District Judge Sudhir allowed the petition and issued a notice to Owaisi on Saturday, asking him to appear before the court on January 7.

Gupta said he was hurt by Owaisi’s slogan.

His slogan was contrary to the Constitution, he added.

Owaisi was sworn in as MP from Hyderabad on June 25.

After his swearing-in ceremony, he greeted this conflict-affected West Asian country from the podium.

The president then ordered the comments to be deleted.

Owaisi had justified his slogan after leaving the House and told reporters that there was nothing wrong in him saying ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’.