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'One cigarette won't matter': TMC MP's Delhi pollution quip after smoking row in Parliament | Watch
Smoking of e-smoking, inside and outside the Parliament building, becomes latest row between BJP and Trinamool Congress as election-bound Bengal stays in focus
There remains suspense on which Trinamool Congress leader was his target when BJP MP Anurag Thakur accused “a TMC MP” of smoking an e-cigarette inside the Lok Sabha on Thursday, but senior TMC Saugata Roy sought to blow the whole row away after he was seen smoking a cigarette outside the Parliament building later.
Asked to clear the air on Friday, Saugata Roy highlighting instead the air pollution in the national capital. “There is nothing in this so-called accusation,” he told reporters. “Smoking cigarettes inside the House is forbidden. There is no restriction on smoking cigarettes outside the House in this open area,” he insisted.
“The BJP, which makes such accusations, is in government when pollution is highest in Delhi. So, instead of talking about all that, our extra cigarette will not make any difference. They should reduce pollution in Delhi,” he added.
“There is politics over this because the BJP is under attack… Why are you asking so much? A BJP minister said something, and you are speaking as if it is the gospel truth. It is not the gospel truth,” he further said.
Union Ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Giriraj Singh had spotted Roy smoking Thursday evening and told him he should not be smoking in a public place. Roy tried to hide his cigarette from view and said smoking was allowed in open spaces.
This was just after the row inside the Lok Sabha — though it was not clear if Anurag Thakur was referring to Roy specifically.
Roy told reporters immediately after: “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?”
It all started during Question Hour, when former minister Anurag Thakur asked Speaker Om Birla rhetorically if smoking e-cigarettes was allowed in the House while these are banned in general in the country. Thakur then alleged, without naming anyone, “A TMC MP is sitting and smoking an e-cigarette. In fact, a TMC MP has been constantly smoking e-cigarettes in the House for the past several days.”
Shatabdi Roy, the TMC’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, was seen looking around and gesturing to Thakur to let the issue go, The Indian Express reported.
But Thakur went on: “Sir, this is a serious matter. There should be action against such MPs.” Om Birla tried to move on, but several BJP MPs stood up to join Thakur in protest.
Birla then responded: “Everyone should follow the rules to protect the dignity of the House. If any such issue comes before me, strict action will be taken.
Thakur later said he had submitted a written complaint, and reportedly said, “This is going to be a big issue in the coming days.”
The coming days will witness an election in West Bengal, where the BJP has been particularly high on efforts to unseat Mamata Banerjee's TMC, which has been in power since defeating an entrenched Communist government in 2011.
Earlier, Bengal was a centrepiece of a debate on the national song Vande Mataram, as it was written by a Bengali poet Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. PM Narendra Modi's manner of addressing him as ‘da’ (brother') also became an issue, and he changed to the formal ‘babu’ (akin to ‘sir’, considered more respectful) after TMC's Saugata Roy took offence.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi pointedly accused the PM and the BJP-led NDA of using the discussion on Vande Mataram for targeting political gains in Bengal. Home minister Amit Shah later called the allegation insulting.
