In the British Parliament, 23 PIO MPs chose various holy books
UK Parliament MPs Oath Ceremony News: In the British Parliament, 23 PIO MPs chose various holy books and affirmations for their oath ceremonies after the Liberal Party's victory in the UK General Elections 2024. Five, including former home secretary Priit Patel, have chosen to swear an oath on the Holy Bible, three chose the Bhagavad Gita and Preet Kaur Gill chose the Sundar Gutka.
In the Parliament, some MPs are Sikh and seven Labour MPs said they wished to swear their oath but without holding the Sundar Gutka, and seven PIO MPs, including two Punjabi-origin MPs, chose to affirm and not swear any oath to God.
Jasveer Singh, spokesperson for the Sikh Press Association, said "It is against the Sikh faith to swear on our scripture in this way. Also, we don't view Guru Granth Sahib Ji as a book. It is our scriptural Guru. The Gutka is a condensed mini-compilation of the Sikh scripture.”
On Tuesday, MPs started taking the oath after Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle was re-elected. The oath is: “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.”
The affirmation is: “I do solemnly and 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.
MP Kanishka Narayan who was born in Bihar and Shivani Raja, as well as opposition leader Rishi Sunak, took their oaths on the Bhagavad Gita.
MP Neil Shashti-Hunt and new Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher, Sonia Kumar, and Sureena Brackenridge, all chose to affirm and not take the oath. Labour Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill swore on a copy of the Sundar Gutka, but another seven Labour Sikh MPs refused to hold the Sikh text and instead raised their right hand and swore the oath. Newly elected Ilford South Labour MP Jas Athwal, said: “I do have a preferred book but I am not going to hold it. I am just going to raise my hand.”
Labour Sikh MPs Gurinder Singh Josan, Kirith Entwistle, Harpreet Uppal, Satvir Kaur, and Warinder Singh Juss all held their right hands raised and swore the oath without a holy book.
