New Delhi- Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, the newly elected Member of Parliament from Srinagar Lok Sabha Constituency, chose to take his oath in Kashmiri on Monday.
Representing the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Mehdi secured his seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election by defeating Waheed Para of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mohammad Ashraf Mir of Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP).
His choice to take the oath in his native tongue was a significant gesture that highlighted the cultural and linguistic diversity of India. Mehdi’s words, “Be, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, yus Lok Sabahai hyund member muntakhab karne aas naas, tchus khudawand tala sindis naavas peith halaf tulaan…,” reverberated through Parliament, bringing a touch of Kashmir’s unique cultural heritage to the national stage.
Joining him in this display of linguistic pride was Mian Altaf Ahmad, the newly elected Member of Parliament from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, who chose to take his oath in Urdu, an official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehdi’s decision to speak in Kashmiri resonated strongly on social media, with many people from Kashmir expressing their admiration and pride. His gesture was seen as an affirmation of cultural identity during the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati and Odia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath in Hindi amid slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” from the treasury benches.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Urban Development Minister ML Khattar were among those who took oath in Hindi.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the MP from Odisha’s Sambalpur, took oath in Odia.
As Pradhan proceeded to take his oath, members of the opposition raised “NEET, NEET” slogans, amid a controversy over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including the medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG).
Suresh Gopi, the first BJP MP to be elected from Kerala, also took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Before taking his oath in Malayalam, the actor-politician invoked the gods, saying “Krishna, Guruvayurappa”.
Gopi is the Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism and Petroleum. He represents Kerala’s Thrissur constituency.
Shripad Yesso Naik, the MoS for Power and Renewable Energy, took his oath in Sanskrit. Naik won a sixth term from the North Goa constituency.
First-time MP and former Union minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj also took oath in Sanskrit, alongside BJP MPs Devusinh Chauhan (Kheda in Gujarat), Hemang Joshi (Vadodara in Gujarat), and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri (Uttar Kannada in Karnataka) and the Congress’ MP from Sonipat in Haryana Satpal Brahamchari.
MoS for Education and Development of North Eastern Region Sukanta Majumdar took his oath in Bengali.
Pune MP Muralidhar Mohol, the MoS for Aviation, took his oath in Marathi.
Union Minister Jitender Singh, the MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, took his oath in Dogri.
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