New Delhi: Was a Parliamentarian vaping inside the Lok Sabha on Thursday while the House was in session?
BJP MP Anurag Thakur has complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla regarding the violation of Parliamentary rules and statutory laws by using an e-cigarette inside the Chamber of Lok Sabha, as reported by ANI.
Thakur has demanded disciplinary action against the Trinamool Congress MP who not only took the E-cigarette inside, but also used it, even as others debated. He did not name the MP though.
“A Member of Parliament belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress was seen openly using an electronic cigarette while seated in the House during the sittings… The open use of a banned substance and a prohibited device inside the sanctum sanctorum of Indian democracy, the Lok Sabha chamber, constitutes not only a blatant violation of parliamentary decorum and discipline but also a cognizable offence under the laws enacted by this very House…,” Thakur wrote in his complaint letter.
During Question Hour, on Thursday, Thakur asked whether e-cigarettes were allowed in the House, noting that a TMC member had been “constantly smoking e
-cigarettes in the House for the past several days.”
Speaker Om Birla had responded firmly and said that no rules allow smoking inside the House and urged members to maintain the dignity of Parliament.
He added that if a written complaint is lodged, appropriate action would follow.
The BJP was quick to latch on to the issue with the party’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla demanding that the TMC take action against the member involved.
“There has been a complete ban on e-cigarettes across the country since 2019. The use of any such items is completely banned in the Parliament premises. But a TMC MP violated all these laws today,” he said.
“The question is, will the TMC take action against its MP or wait for the Speaker to do so,” he asked.
“They say they are defenders of parliamentary democracy. What action will the TMC take against the erring MP who lowered the dignity of the Parliament and the Constitution?” Poonawalla wanted to know.
Senior Trinamool MP Saugata Roy had earlier been spotted smoking outside the Parliament.
When asked about the matter, he said: “I cannot say anything about that, because I was not in the House and I don’t know who smoked and complained. It is for the Speaker to inquire and take action if it amounts to a violation of the rules. Why is it being made a political issue?”
E-cigarettes have been banned under the Electronic Cigarettes (Prohibition) Act, 2019, which prohibits their production, sale, import, export, and advertising, with penalties including jail terms and fines.