Smoking in Parliament, BJP Complaints to Speaker against TMC MP, Demands Apology from Mamata

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Dec 17: The “smoking in Parliament” row erupted again on Wednesday with the BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya naming the alleged offender to be Trinamool Congress member and former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad and demanding Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to take stern action against him for violating the rules and dignity of Parliament.

Mr Malviya also shared a 35 second video which showed Azad sitting inside the Lok Sabha and making a gesture that resembled smoking – i.e., he brought his cupped right hand to his mouth and held it for five seconds. However, in the clip on X, neither a cigarette or e-cigarette nor any smoke was seen.

Nevertheless, Malviya, who is BJP in-charge of West Bengal, accused the former India cricketer of vaping inside the House, referring to party colleague Anurag Thakur’s comment last week about an unidentified lawmaker. “The Trinamool MP accused by BJP MP Anurag Thakur of vaping inside Parliament is none other than Kirti Azad. For people like him, rules and laws clearly hold no meaning. Just imagine the audacity, hiding an e-cigarette in his palm while in the House!”

“Smoking may not be illegal but using it in Parliament is entirely unacceptable. (Trinamool Congress boss) Mamata Banerjee must clarify on her MP’s misconduct,” Malviya said. Last Thursday Thakur, a former union minister, complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about Trinamool MPs vaping in the House. “E-cigarettes are banned across the country… yet you have allowed them in the House? Trinamool MPs have been sitting and smoking for days…”

Birla urged House members to maintain dignity and vowed action. “We must adhere to parliamentary traditions and rules. If such matters come to my attention, I will act,” he said. This issue may seem insignificant given there are more serious topics – electoral reform and the air pollution in Delhi, for example – but political observers were keen to point out it is not.

By drawing the Speaker into the row, the BJP had converted a potential social gaffe into a breach of parliamentary privilege. This, observers, argued, gave the ruling party leverage over its rival. It was also significant that Thakur’s allegation revolved around e-cigarettes inside the House because consumption of these, unlike their tobacco-filled cousins, are fully illegal in India.

The possession or use of e-cigarettes in government buildings, especially the Parliament complex, is a punishable offense, he pointed out, noting that the use of any nicotine/smoking device has been prohibited within the Parliament House since 2008.

“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,” read Thakur’s letter. Seeking “exemplary action,” he requested an inquiry into the incident and called on the Speaker to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the MP.

Last week another Trinamool MP, Saugata Roy, was confronted outside the House, but still inside Parliament premises, by the BJP’s Giriraj Singh and Gajendra Shekhawat, both union ministers, while smoking. They cited health concerns as they did; a video of the confrontation showed Roy hiding a cigarette behind his back as he argued with them. Roy defended himself on the grounds that he was not smoking inside the House – which is banned by the Parliament rulebook.

Roy was confronted by Union ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Giriraj Singh outside parliament while he was smoking. They cited public health concerns as they questioned his act, a video of which showed Roy holding a cigarette in his left hand. Defending himself, he said he was smoking in the open and not inside the building.

The Trinamool leader today accused the government of trying to divert attention from the pollution issue. “Smoking cigarettes inside the House is prohibited, but there is no objection to smoking cigarettes in the open space outside the House. Pollution in Delhi is at its highest during the BJP government. They should focus on this instead of making such allegations. Smoking one cigarette won’t change anything,” Roy told reporters. And underneath all of this is another layer of subtext – the BJP vs Trinamool proxy face-off ahead of next year’s Assembly election.

Thakur had raised the vaping charge during the Question Hour last week claiming that Trinamool MPs have been vaping in the House despite it being banned across India. Yesterday’s video that is being widely circulated showed Shekhawat and Singh, both ministers in the Union cabinet, confronting Roy in the Parliament House Complex. “It’s a threat to your health,” Singh told him. Roy tried to reason that smoking in the open was not a violation. That wasn’t a valid argument since he was putting everyone’s health at risk, Shekhawat added.

Speaking to reporters, Roy denied he used an e-cigarette in the House yesterday. “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?” he said.

A 2019 law prohibits the production, manufacture, import/export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, and advertising of e-cigarettes. The squabble has extended to normal cigarettes too.

Finally, rows over smoking inside Parliament are not new. Back in 2015 there was commotion after smoking was banned inside the House and the designated ‘smoking room’ was converted into an office for the Trinamool. On that occasion MPs from the treasury and opposition benches complained to then-Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.