From displays of loyalty to controversial gestures, this year's oath-taking ceremony reveals a transformed landscape in Indian politics

Newly elected members of the Lok Sabha taking oath to adhere to the Constitution of India is a solemn occasion. “I, X, having been elected a member of the Houe of the People do swear in the name of God (solemnly affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter”, is what they have to tell while taking the oath.It is not known what is the role of the presidents of the parties under whose label they enter the precincts of the House. Agreed, these members were either hand-picked by the bosses of their parties, or they themselves could have kept a gun on the forehead of the proprietors of the parties demanding the latter to nominate them as candidates for the Lok Sabha election.While watching some of these newly elected members taking the oath of office, one was flabbergasted by the fall in the quality of politics and the standard of our parliamentary system. Previously we had titans as members of political and social life but now, the only titans that we come across are the wristwatches and clocks made by the House of Tatas.The Dravidian politicians from Tamil Nadu were the butt of jokes as they took the oath of office. After taking the customary oath specified in the Third Schedule of the Constitution, the DMK members sang paeans to their Gods in Chennai. All DMK members except T R Balu raised slogans eulogizing the DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, the future chief minister Udhayanidhi (son of Stalin) and late M Karunanidhi (former chief minister and one of the founders of the DMK) seeking their blessings to serve Tamil Nadu!

Sycophancy and servility were at their peak while they were swearing in as members. There has been criticism against members of the DMK and the AIADMK for their servile nature and lassitude to their leaders which make them laughing stocks.

Most DMK members wore Vibhuti and holy Kumkum on their foreheads. It is not uncommon to see MPs and MLAs belonging to the DMK and the AIADMK doing Danda Namaskar, an obeisance to the presiding deity of the party. Though they do not believe in pilgrimage to temples, politicians have made it a point to fall down on the floor once they come face to face with the party head.But whether the sycophancy they exhibit in public is real or not is a major question. One of the elected MPs from Tamil Nadu who took the oath of office last day was going around astrologers and sorcerers in Kerala to ascertain whether the Karunanidhi clan had performed black magic either on him or his family members. Since his father is a bigwig in the party hierarchy, it was the mother who accompanied the son to liberate him from the evil spirits. That is the rationalism and atheism practised by the followers of Ramasamy Naicker.While the DMK MPs were happily extolling the K-Clan members, there were reservations in the minds of a section of people about what Thol Thirumavalavan of the VCK, whose antipathy for north Indians is infamous, would do.

He is the one who frequently declares that north Indians are not welcome to stay in Tamil Nadu though he has demanded that Rohingya refugees should be given a place of residence in the State.  Thank God Thirumavalavan did not raise the slogan Jai Prabhakaran. Many DMK politicians in Chennai were heard asking why the newly elected MPs did not say Jai to Inbanidhi and Tanmaya (Udhayanidhi’s son and daughter).

The most disgusting of the lot was made by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi who shouted “Jai Palestine” while taking oath as a member of the House. This is a cardinal sin capable of throwing shadow over India-Israel ties. People like Owaisi are a blot on this nation as he had the audacity to describe the infamous criminal Mukhtar Ansari as a Shaheed. Owaisi is a living example that one could not have civility by attending Lincoln’s Inn. The day is not far when he or others of his ilk would shout “Jai Pakistan” from the temple of Indian democracy.

Organizations like Hamas have no place in the comity of nations and the civilized world. What happened in October 2023 should be condemned in the strongest of words. India has given enough support to the Palestinians and what it got back was just brickbats. The general public should know the truth.Shouting slogans in support of the party president’s wife and children from the Speaker’s podium while taking the oath of office is not secularism or pluralism.

(The writer is a special correspondent with The Pioneer; views are personal)