Conservative MP Bob Blackman has taken the oath of office, swearing allegiance to King Charles on both the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. Mr Blackman took the oath on the Gita in 2019 as well.
The 68-year-old posted a video on X, saying he was “proud” to have taken his oath of allegiance to King Charles “on the King James Bible and the Gita”. He was seen holding both the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible in his hands during the event.
Mr Blackman represents the Harrow East constituency, which has a significant Hindu population. His decision to take the oath on the Gita may be seen as a gesture to connect with his Hindu voters.
Earlier, Mr Blackman, an avid supporter of Hindu rights, spoke out over the British media's biased reporting of the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya. He claimed that the BBC's coverage was inaccurate as they failed to acknowledge the site's 2000-year-old history as a temple before the “Muslims had been allocated a five-acre site on which to erect a mosque adjacent to the town.” Instead, he said, that the BBC focused solely on the mosque's destruction, putting forth a narrative that has caused "great disharmony" among Hindus worldwide.
Bob Blackman was recently elected as the Chairman of the 1922 Committee, a powerful group that will play a major role in selecting the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Meanwhile, Indian-origin Shivani Raja, the new Conservative MP for Leicester East, also took oath on the sacred Bhagavad Gita. It's the first time in 37 years that a Conservative has won the Leicester East seat.
In the recent UK elections, the Conservative Party suffered a major blow, winning only 121 seats. Meanwhile, the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a staggering 411 seats in the 650-seat house.
