As Ram Nath Kovind took oath as the 14th President of India, the Central Hall of the Parliament House witnessed something unusual.
Some from the large contingent of BJP MPs in the venue raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ when Kovind was administered oath, reports ABP News. As per a report in The Times of India, the slogans were raised by a handful of BJP MPs and could be heard “faintly as invitees rose to file out of the Central Hall”.
Watch the video here:
After President Kovind took oath chants of Jai Shri Ram echoed in the central hall.
For more: https://t.co/NounxnP7mg #ITvideo pic.twitter.com/7A5BLqvjK4— India Today (@IndiaToday) July 25, 2017
The action has come under fire from media and opposition parties who say that patronising a particular religion is against the dignity of the Parliament and the constitutional office of the President.
Here is how they reacted:
If they heard allah u akbar slogans in kashmir assembly this lot will be shouting jihad, guess what that makes them https://t.co/8BINQyMuxI
— Hartosh Singh Bal (@HartoshSinghBal) July 25, 2017
How would we have reacted to chants of “Allahu Akbar-Allahu Akbar” when the President of India took oath? https://t.co/0xP37eUTzZ
— Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) July 25, 2017
Why only ‘Jai Shri Ram’? Why not ‘Jai Bheem’? https://t.co/zt1ZDL4oHN via @dailyo_
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 25, 2017
Shame on Ramnath Kovind as instead of Jai Bhim,Sanghi shouted Jai Shri Ram after his oath & we expect tht he will fight for equality? Never https://t.co/Cq34DcnliJ
— Invincible (@i_me_my5elf) July 25, 2017
What if some other religious slogans were raised? Would RSS have been happy or would society had accepted those? https://t.co/0dIcZYnbd1
— Ambedkar’s Caravan (@AmbedkarCaravan) July 25, 2017
(Feature Image Source: PTI)