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‘Imagine the audacity’: BJP drops video claiming TMC's Kirti Azad ‘smoking e-cigarette’ in Parliament
Amit Malviya sought TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's clarification on the issue and said smoking in the Parliament is "unacceptable".
Days after raking up 'smoking in Parliament' row, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday dropped a video purportedly showing Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad vaping in the House.
BJP leader Amit Malviya, while sharing the video, claimed "the TMC MP accused by BJP MP Anurag Thakur of vaping inside the Parliament is none other than Kirti Azad." E-cigarettes are banned in the country.
Last week, BJP MP Anurag Thakur, without naming anyone, lodged a complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanded action against a TMC leader for allegedly smoking an e-cigarette inside the House.
Also Read: 'One cigarette won't matter': TMC MP's Delhi pollution quip after smoking row in Parliament | Watch
"The TMC 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!" Malviya said in a post on X, along with sharing the video.
The BJP leader sought TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's clarification on the issue and said smoking in the Parliament is "unacceptable".
"Smoking may not be illegal, but using it in Parliament is entirely unacceptable. Mamata Banerjee must clarify on her MP’s misconduct," he added.
In his written complaint, Anurag Thakur said, "A Member of Parliament belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress was seen openly using an electronic cigarette while seated in the House during the sittings."
Also Read: BJP MP confronts Trinamool's Saugata Roy over smoking at Parliament premises. He walks off | Video
The Hamirpur MP said the "open use" of a banned substance and a prohibited device inside 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 the House.
Speaker Om Birla has assured action and said that if a written complaint is lodged on the matter, he will take action.
Meanwhile, Kirti Azad, while responding to Thakur's allegations on Thursday, said he wasted Lok Sabha's time by raising the issue in the House.
"If you lodge any complaint against any MP or party levelling an allegation, it has to be proved. There are rules and regulations in Lok Sabha. He (Thakur) has served as a Union minister. Such a person, who doesnt know rules and regulations, is levelling an allegation. It has to be proved," Azad told reporters in the Parliament complex.
