New Delhi: Opposition leaders Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against BSP MP Danish Ali in the House.
As the BJP faced flak over Bidhuri’s utterances, party MP Nishikant Dubey questioned Ali’s conduct in the House and urged the Speaker to form an inquiry committee to look into statements made by the BSP MP and members from parties like the TMC and the DMK in Lok Sabha.
He alleged that Ali made “highly objectionable” remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi that provoked the ruling party member.
Also, former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb shared a video clip on X purportedly of Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and asked if any opposition leader had condemned it.
Speaker Birla had Friday warned Bidhuri of “strict action” if such behaviour is repeated and his remarks were expunged from parliamentary records but the INDIA bloc parties had demanded that the matter be referred to the privileges committee of the House.
The BJP had issued a show-cause notice to Bidhuri, who represents South Delhi Lok Sabha seat.
As Bidhuri’s remarks during a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan-3 in the Lok Sabha Thursday triggered a furore, Ali had said that he could consider quitting the membership of the House if no step is taken.
In a letter written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress leader and former Maharashtra minister Naseem Khan demanded that Bidhuri be “permanently suspended”.
Bidhuri’s “shameful” statement is an insult not only to the MP but also to Parliament, the “sanctum sanctorum of our democracy”, he said.
“It is very unfortunate and disturbing that language which was earlier confined to street debates related to organisations like RSS and VHP has now entered Parliament through BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri,” he alleged.
Speaker Birla should send a strong message by effecting immediate “permanent suspension” of Bidhuri, Khan demanded.
BRS MLC in Telangana K Kavitha also urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to take stringent action in the matter.
“It’s saddening and shocking to hear the disrespectful comments made by MP @rameshbidhuri towards MP Danish Ali Ji in the supreme legislature of our Nation. Such behaviour has no place in our democratic discourse. I request Hon’ble speaker @ombirlakota Ji to take immediate and stringent action,” she said on X.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi demanded that the Speaker take the strictest action against Bidhuri and demanded his suspension.
“Why has action not been taken till now. By just issuing a warning, you are telling the MPs that you can get away with such a conduct….,” she said.
Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said it was the constitutional as well as moral responsibility of Speaker Birla to take action in the matter.
However, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, accusing Ali of making unsavoury remarks during Bidhuri’s speech in the House aimed at instigating him to lose his composure.
Dubey alleged that Ali also made a “highly objectionable and blasphemous” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He used “neech” barb, the BJP leader claimed, saying it was more than enough for “any patriotic public representative to lose his calm and fall into his trap by uttering unsavoury words.”
Dubey was, however, categorical in condemning Bidhuri’s comments, saying no decent society can justify them and they cannot be condemned enough.
“But the Lok Sabha Speaker should also probe the unsavoury remarks and conduct of Danish Ali. Under Lok Sabha rules, obstructing another MP during the time allotted to him, speaking while sitting and giving a running commentary also call for punishment,” he posted on X.
In his letter, Dubey said TMC and DMK members also made comments about the faith of another community. What he has written is a verifiable fact, he claimed.
If Bidhuri has committed an inappropriate act, then other members, including Ali, have also contributed to spreading enmity amongst communities.
“I, therefore, request you to constitute an ‘Inquiry Committee’ to investigate the utterances made by various members during the said discussion and also to inquire the extent of culpability of various other members of Parliament in instigating our citizens by way of their comments made in the House,” he wrote to the Speaker.
Members of the TMC and NCP among others have written to the Speaker seeking action against Bidhuri.
BJP’s Haryana in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb hit out at Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan for allegedly making derogatory remarks against against Modi and Khattar.
He dubbed Bhan’s remarks as a reflection of the “pervert mentality” of the opposition party.
“Is it Rahul Gandhi’s shop of love,” he said.
“Did any opposition leader condemn this? Has the Congress asked him to apologise,” asked the BJP Rajya Sabha MP.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the Congress of using uncouth and derogatory words against Modi and his family.
Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav compared Bidhuri’s behaviour to that of “street bullies”.
The RJD leader also said that he had no hopes of action against Bidhuri since it appears that those in the BJP had the right to indulge in all types of delinquent behaviour.
“We saw the plight of award-winning female wrestlers who sat on dharnas for months. But no action was taken against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh whom they accused of sexual harassment,” Yadav alleged.
“What happened inside the Parliament was, indeed, painful and shameful. The use of such language, targeting a fellow MP for his religious affiliation…,” he said.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter.
“The seven-star edifice saw the new culture of ‘hate’ being inaugurated in Parliament,” Sibal said.
PTI