'A meeting that never happened...': Shashi Tharoor on 'Bihari gunda' row

Congress MP Tharoor, who heads the Parliamentary standing committee on IT, had this to say on BJP MP Nishikant Dubey being allegedly name-called by TMC's Mahua Moitra in the meeting.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who heads the Parliamentary standing committee on information technology, said on Thursday no meeting of the panel took place on Wednesday, adding that if somebody allegedly said something at a meeting that never happened, why should “I be concerned about it?”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who heads the panel on information and technology (File Photo/HT),

Tharoor was responding to questions on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey being allegedly called a “Bihari gunda” by Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Mahua Moitra. Both Dubey and Moitra are members of the IT committee.

“There couldn’t be a committee meeting yesterday because 10 people who were physically present chose not to sign register to deny us a quorum. There was no quorum and no meeting. How can I tell you about a meeting that never happened?” the senior Congress leader told news agency ANI. “I’m completely unaware. If someone allegedly said something at a meet that never took place to someone who was not there, how am I to be concerned about it? He did not sign the register, how do we know he was there?” Tharoor further said.

On Wednesday, Moitra, too, had said no meeting took place as there was no quorum. “Am a bit amused by charges of name-calling. IT meeting did not happen because NO quorum-members did not attend. How can I call someone a name who was not even present!! Check attendance sheet!!” she had tweeted after Dubey went public with his allegations.

Earlier, the BJP MP, who hails from Bihar’s Bhagalpur and represents Godda constituency of neighbouring Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha, had tagged West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, complaining about being “abused” by his fellow Lok Sabha MP.

10 BJP MPs on the 31-member IT panel, including Dubey, had refused to sign the attendance register of the meeting, complaining against its agenda meeting being made public. The committee comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha; nearly half the committee members are from the ruling BJP.

The meeting was to take place to discuss the alleged Pegasus snooping scandal. However, the rules, or "quorum," require at least one-third of the members to be present for the meeting, in this case nine. Since the BJP MPs refused to sign the attendance register, the meeting did not take place.