A new copy of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ was recently presented to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle by Shailesh Vara
Rishi Sunak, Shivani Raja, Kanishka Narayan
Pramod Thomas
11 July, 2024
NEWLY elected British Indian MPs to the House of Commons have been pledging their allegiance to the British Crown as a symbol of loyalty to the country, choosing to swear on holy texts or affirm their oath during the first week of a new Parliament.
A new copy of the Bhagavad Gita was recently presented to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle by Shailesh Vara, a former Tory MP who lost his Cambridgeshire seat in the general election. The holy text was blessed at the Mayapur temple headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Rishi Sunak was among the first British Indian MPs to take his oath as Leader of the Opposition on Tuesday (9).
Holding Bhagavad Gita in his right hand, the former prime minister read out the customary text: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”
British Indian Shivani Raja, who became the first Tory MP to win the Leicester East seat in 37 years, also swore her allegiance to the parliament on the sacred Gita.
First-time MP Kanishka Narayan, who is the first British Indian MP to represent Wales in the Westminster Parliament after winning the Vale of Glamorgan seat for Labour, also chose the Gita for his oath.
Bob Blackman, a Tory veteran who represents Harrow East in London and has chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, chose to hold both the ‘Gita’ and the ‘King James Bible’ for his oath-taking ceremony.
Some of the British Sikh MPs such as Tan Dhesi and first-timers Gurinder Singh Josan, Harpreet Uppal, Satvir Kaur and Warinder Singh Juss chose to swear their oath to the Sikh scriptures but without holding any text in their hands.
Preet Kaur Gill, with her head covered with a red scarf, chose to hold the cloth-wrapped Sundar Gutka prayer book during her swearing-in.
Sojan Joseph, the mental health nurse from Kerala who has been elected Labour MP from Ashford in Kent, chose the ‘New Testament’ biblical text to swear his oath. Meanwhile, the ‘King James Bible’ was chosen by re-elected Tories Priti Patel and Claire Coutinho, as well as Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson.
MPs can opt for a non-religious affirmation, as did the two new Independent MPs with their roots in India, Shockat Adam and Iqbal Mahmood, along with many others including Tory MP Gagan Mohindra and Labour’s Lisa Nandy and Seema Malhotra.
First-timers like Tory MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hunt and Labour’s Jeevun Sandher and Sonia Kumar also chose to affirm their pledge of allegiance.
The affirmation reads: “I do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.”
All elected MPs, including 29 of British Indians, have been queuing up in the Commons chamber since Tuesday to complete this protocol before they can officially take their seats in Parliament.
The process completed on Thursday (11) and Parliament was adjourned until next week, when the State Opening and King’s Speech laying out the new government’s plans for the parliamentary calendar is scheduled for July 17.
Pramod Thomas
11 July, 2024
NEWLY elected British Indian MPs to the House of Commons have been pledging their allegiance to the British Crown as a symbol of loyalty to the country, choosing to swear on holy texts or affirm their oath during the first week of a new Parliament.
A new copy of the Bhagavad Gita was recently presented to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle by Shailesh Vara, a former Tory MP who lost his Cambridgeshire seat in the general election. The holy text was blessed at the Mayapur temple headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Rishi Sunak was among the first British Indian MPs to take his oath as Leader of the Opposition on Tuesday (9).
Holding Bhagavad Gita in his right hand, the former prime minister read out the customary text: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”
British Indian Shivani Raja, who became the first Tory MP to win the Leicester East seat in 37 years, also swore her allegiance to the parliament on the sacred Gita.
First-time MP Kanishka Narayan, who is the first British Indian MP to represent Wales in the Westminster Parliament after winning the Vale of Glamorgan seat for Labour, also chose the Gita for his oath.
Bob Blackman, a Tory veteran who represents Harrow East in London and has chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, chose to hold both the ‘Gita’ and the ‘King James Bible’ for his oath-taking ceremony.
Some of the British Sikh MPs such as Tan Dhesi and first-timers Gurinder Singh Josan, Harpreet Uppal, Satvir Kaur and Warinder Singh Juss chose to swear their oath to the Sikh scriptures but without holding any text in their hands.
Preet Kaur Gill, with her head covered with a red scarf, chose to hold the cloth-wrapped Sundar Gutka prayer book during her swearing-in.
Sojan Joseph, the mental health nurse from Kerala who has been elected Labour MP from Ashford in Kent, chose the ‘New Testament’ biblical text to swear his oath. Meanwhile, the ‘King James Bible’ was chosen by re-elected Tories Priti Patel and Claire Coutinho, as well as Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson.
MPs can opt for a non-religious affirmation, as did the two new Independent MPs with their roots in India, Shockat Adam and Iqbal Mahmood, along with many others including Tory MP Gagan Mohindra and Labour’s Lisa Nandy and Seema Malhotra.
First-timers like Tory MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hunt and Labour’s Jeevun Sandher and Sonia Kumar also chose to affirm their pledge of allegiance.
The affirmation reads: “I do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.”
All elected MPs, including 29 of British Indians, have been queuing up in the Commons chamber since Tuesday to complete this protocol before they can officially take their seats in Parliament.
The process completed on Thursday (11) and Parliament was adjourned until next week, when the State Opening and King’s Speech laying out the new government’s plans for the parliamentary calendar is scheduled for July 17.
Record number of Sikh MPs elected to Parliament
By Richard Price, BBC News, West Midlands
By Richard Price, BBC News, West Midlands
Preet Kaur Gill
There are now eleven Sikh Labour MPs following the election on 4 July
Three West Midlands MPs are among a record number of Sikh MPs elected or re-elected at the recent general election, according to a Labour MP.
Preet Kaur Gill was the first Sikh woman to be elected to the Commons when she initially won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat in 2017.
She told BBC Radio WM it was a privilege and an honour to take up the role and to see more Sikh MPs in Parliament.
She said there was still a lot to do, however, to better serve the British Sikh community.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to see a record level of Sikh representation in Parliament, the Labour party now has 11 Sikh members of Parliament,” she said.
“There is lots to do for the Sikh community – one of the biggest issues is the inequalities that they face across public services.”
Sonia Kumar, who has been elected to the newly formed Dudley constituency, said she was pleased that young Sikhs now had more role models.
“Representation really matters,” she said. “When you look up you want to see people in those positions and feel like you’re able to attain those as well.”
She hoped pictures of the 11 standing together in parliament would inspire others to stand for election in the future.
“We’re just really honoured, really privileged to all be elected and we can’t wait for the next few weeks ahead to start our journey,” she said.
She added that the staff in Parliament had been helpful and understanding with the new cohort.
Representing all constituents
Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss said his first few days had been like a whirlwind.
He similarly praised the friendly and welcoming reception new MPs had received from staff in Westminster.
“My immediate priority is to set up an office in Wolverhampton, get staff in and start helping constituents as I’ve always wanted to do.”
MPs needed to be representative of their constituency, he said, adding that Wolverhampton had a significant Sikh population.
Mr Juss represents the constituency formerly represented by Enoch Powell, who supported a ban on Sikh bus drivers wearing turbans to work in the 1960s.
He said: “It is a great honour. To be a Sikh, to be a turban Sikh, as an MP.”
He said the big challenges people raised while he was canvassing included crime and antisocial behaviour, the cost of living and education – and that he would work for people of any faith or none.
There was also a record number of Muslim MPs elected this year, according to the Labour Muslim Network.
Among them in the West Midlands are Zarah Sultana for Coventry South, Shabana Mahmood for Birmingham Ladywood and Tahir Ali for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley.
Also among the Muslim MPs elected in the West Midlands is independent MP Ayoub Khan for Birmingham Perry Barr.
There are now eleven Sikh Labour MPs following the election on 4 July
Three West Midlands MPs are among a record number of Sikh MPs elected or re-elected at the recent general election, according to a Labour MP.
Preet Kaur Gill was the first Sikh woman to be elected to the Commons when she initially won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat in 2017.
She told BBC Radio WM it was a privilege and an honour to take up the role and to see more Sikh MPs in Parliament.
She said there was still a lot to do, however, to better serve the British Sikh community.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to see a record level of Sikh representation in Parliament, the Labour party now has 11 Sikh members of Parliament,” she said.
“There is lots to do for the Sikh community – one of the biggest issues is the inequalities that they face across public services.”
Sonia Kumar, who has been elected to the newly formed Dudley constituency, said she was pleased that young Sikhs now had more role models.
“Representation really matters,” she said. “When you look up you want to see people in those positions and feel like you’re able to attain those as well.”
She hoped pictures of the 11 standing together in parliament would inspire others to stand for election in the future.
“We’re just really honoured, really privileged to all be elected and we can’t wait for the next few weeks ahead to start our journey,” she said.
She added that the staff in Parliament had been helpful and understanding with the new cohort.
Representing all constituents
Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss said his first few days had been like a whirlwind.
He similarly praised the friendly and welcoming reception new MPs had received from staff in Westminster.
“My immediate priority is to set up an office in Wolverhampton, get staff in and start helping constituents as I’ve always wanted to do.”
MPs needed to be representative of their constituency, he said, adding that Wolverhampton had a significant Sikh population.
Mr Juss represents the constituency formerly represented by Enoch Powell, who supported a ban on Sikh bus drivers wearing turbans to work in the 1960s.
He said: “It is a great honour. To be a Sikh, to be a turban Sikh, as an MP.”
He said the big challenges people raised while he was canvassing included crime and antisocial behaviour, the cost of living and education – and that he would work for people of any faith or none.
There was also a record number of Muslim MPs elected this year, according to the Labour Muslim Network.
Among them in the West Midlands are Zarah Sultana for Coventry South, Shabana Mahmood for Birmingham Ladywood and Tahir Ali for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley.
Also among the Muslim MPs elected in the West Midlands is independent MP Ayoub Khan for Birmingham Perry Barr.
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