NEW DELHI: Three Lok Sabha MPs on Tuesday asked Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to send Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann to a de-addiction centre on public expense.
In a letter to the Speaker, they said Mann should be allowed to return to the House only after he undergoes rehabilitation at a drugs/alcohol de-addiction centre.
The MPs alleged Mann often came to Parliament under the influence of intoxicants or alcohol and had denigrated the entire institution by his actions.
“This reflects very poorly and denigrates the seat of a member of this august House,” the three MPs -- Prem Singh Chandumajra (Shiromani Akali Dal), Harinder Singh Khalsa (suspended AAP member) and Mahesh Giri (BJP) – said in their letter. Khalsa, who was suspended from AAP last year, had earlier asked the Speaker to change his seat in the House, saying it was torturous to sit next to a drunk Mann
The MPs did not substantiate their allegations about Mann’s alleged alcoholism, but insisted that it is ‘common knowledge’ that Mann is ‘always under the influence of alcohol or intoxicants’.
Reacting to the allegations, Mann said he could only “pity” those who had made these suggestion. “Without any proof against me, they have declared me an alcoholic. I challenge all MPs to undergo an alcohol test. I will be the first to give my blood sample for checking. Have these MPs ever bothered to write about farmer suicides, atrocities against Dalits or drugs?
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the allegations, Mann said he could only “pity” those who had made these suggestion. “Without any proof against me, they have declared me an alcoholic. I challenge all MPs to undergo an alcohol test. I will be the first to give my blood sample for checking. Have these MPs ever bothered to write about farmer suicides, atrocities against Dalits or drugs?
{{/usCountry}}I have become the common enemy suddenly. I don’t care about them as long I have made a place for myself in the hearts of people of Punjab. An eagle is able to soar higher only when it is flying against the wind. I am not attending parliament but doing three rallies a day in the state where thousands are flocking,” he said.