Parliament vaping controversy: BJP shares video, targets TMC MP Kirti Azad | WATCH

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released a video alleging that Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kirti Azad was vaping inside Parliament, days after BJP MP Anurag Thakur raised the issue and sought action from the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Sharing the video on social media, the BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote in X, “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! Smoking may not be illegal, but using it in Parliament is entirely unacceptable. Mamata Banerjee must clarify on her MP’s misconduct.”

Last week, Anurag Thakur had lodged a written complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding action against a Trinamool Congress lawmaker for allegedly using an electronic cigarette inside the House. Thakur also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, without naming the MP at the time.

In his complaint, the Hamirpur MP stated, “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.” He added that the act was “clearly visible” to several members present.

Thakur said the “open use” of a banned substance and a prohibited device inside the “sanctum sanctorum” of Indian democracy, the Lok Sabha chamber, amounted to a blatant violation of parliamentary decorum and discipline and also constituted a cognisable offence under laws enacted by Parliament.

Such conduct, he said, lowers the dignity of the House, sets an “extremely poor precedent”, and sends a dangerous message to the youth at a time when the government and Parliament have taken a firm stand against tobacco and nicotine products.

In his letter to the Speaker, Thakur wrote, “Therefore, I earnestly request you to take immediate cognisance of this serious breach of rules and law; direct an inquiry into the incident through the appropriate committee or mechanism of the House.” He also urged Om Birla to initiate “appropriate disciplinary proceedings against the member concerned” as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.