Exercising pressure on Speaker Om Birla to take action against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri who used abusive language against BSP MP Danish Ali on the floor of Lok Sabha on Thursday night, at least four Opposition parties have urged him to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee. The BSP president Mayawati, meanwhile, was the slowest to react to the uproar.
Congress’s floor leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP leader Supriya Sule and TMC’s Aparupa Poddar have written to Mr. Birla. They have also demanded that Mr. Bidhuri must be suspended from Parliament till the Privileges Committee completes its investigations. According to sources, more letters from the other INDIA member parties will follow.
In his letter, Mr. Chowdhury wrote that the exchange reflected “poorly on the Parliament and its sanctity” and that “never in the history of Parliament have such words been used against a member of a minority community”. Expunging the unsavoury words has little impact since it has already been recorded in print and visual media, he added.
