A row erupted in Parliament on Thursday after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Anurag Thakur alleged that a Trinamool Congress MP had smoked e-cigarettes in the Lok Sabha, The Indian Express reported. He did not name anyone.
On Friday, Thakur filed a complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, noting that smoking an e-cigarette inside the House violated parliamentary rules and statutory laws, ANI reported.
The matter came to the fore during the Question Hour on Thursday when the BJP MP asked Birla if smoking e-cigarettes, or vapes, was permitted inside the House, noting that the device was banned in the country.
E-cigarettes are banned under the 2019 Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act.
The BJP leader, without naming anyone, claimed that a Trinamool Congress MP had been “constantly smoking e-cigarettes in the House for the past several days”, the newspaper quoted Thakur as saying.
Describing it as a “serious matter”, the former Union minister said that action should be taken against the MP.
Other BJP MPs also stood up to complain, triggering a brief ruckus in the Lok Sabha.
In response, Birla said that everyone should follow the rules to protect the dignity of the House. “If any such issue comes before me, strict action will be taken,” The Indian Express quoted the speaker as saying.
Birla also said that he would take action if a written complaint was filed.
Responding to the allegation, Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad said that Thakur must provide proof if he saw any legislator from the party smoking an e-cigarette, The Indian Express reported.
“These allegations are baseless as long as they are without any evidence,” the newspaper quoted Azad as saying. “…I am surprised that the chair is allowing a member to raise such allegations without proof.”
Later on Thursday, Thakur told The Indian Express that he had submitted a written complaint to the speaker. He did not name any MP in the complaint.
“Let there be an inquiry,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “It will come out. This is going to be a big issue in the coming days.”
In his complaint to Birla on Friday, Thakur repeated his allegation that a Trinamool Congress MP had been seen smoking an e-cigarette while seated in the Lower House during the proceedings, ANI reported.
“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 cognisable offence under the laws enacted by this very House,” ANI quoted Thakur as saying in the complaint.
He said that the conduct “lowers the dignity of the House, sets an extremely poor precedent, and sends a dangerous message to the youth of the country at a time when the government and Parliament have taken a firm stand against all forms of tobacco and nicotine products”.
The BJP leader urged Birla to take cognisance of the “serious breach of law” and direct an inquiry into the incident. He also requested the speaker to initiate proceedings against the Opposition MP as per the rules of the Lok Sabha.
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