Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, questioning whether chanting “Jai Samvidhaan” (Long live Constitution) is allowed in Parliament, while pointing out that those in power were not stopped from raising unparliamentary slogans.
Her statement followed the swearing-in of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha. Tharoor took his oath in English while holding a copy of the Constitution and concluded with “Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhaan.”
Opposition members echoed Tharoor’s chant of “Jai Samvidhaan,” prompting the Speaker to remind them that they were already taking their oaths on the Constitution.
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda from Haryana argued that the Speaker should not have objected. The Speaker retorted, “Don’t give advice on what to object to and what not to. Sit down.”
Reacting to this, Priyanka Gandhi posted on X, “Can’t ‘Jai Samvidhaan’ be chanted in the Indian Parliament? Those in power were not stopped from raising unparliamentary and unconstitutional slogans in Parliament, but objections were raised when an opposition MP chanted ‘Jai Samvidhaan’. The anti-constitution sentiment that emerged during the elections has now taken a new form, seeking to weaken our Constitution.
“The Constitution by which Parliament functions, the Constitution by which every member takes an oath, the Constitution by which every citizen gets the protection of life and livelihood—will this same Constitution now be opposed to suppress the voice of the opposition?” she questioned.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha began on Monday with the swearing-in of all newly elected Members of Parliament and will run until July 3. Following the two-day swearing-in ceremony, the election for the Lok Sabha Speaker was held on June 26.
Om Birla was elected as Speaker for second consecutive term. Opposition leaders made a strong point by repeatedly mentioning their increased strength in the House and exhorting the Speaker to be ‘neutral and impartial’.
