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All the complaints around BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of pejorative words against BSP leader Danish Ali, on the floor of the Lok Sabha, have been referred to the Privileges Committee.
While Ali and other Opposition MPs had sought action against Bidhuri, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had asked Speaker Om Birla to constitute an inquiry committee to probe instances of “unsavoury remarks” made by Opposition leaders.
“The Privileges Committee will look into all the complaints regarding the incident,” a source in the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.
The 14-member Privileges Committee has eight members from the BJP, including its head Sunil Kumar Singh.
The remarks by Bidhuri, expunged by the Speaker from the records, were made during a discussion on the Chandrayaan 3 mission in last week’s special session of Parliament. In his letter to the Speaker, Ali said the BJP South Delhi MP had called him “bhadwa (pimp), “katwa (circumcised one)” and “Mullah aatankwadi (Muslim terrorist)”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in the Lok Sabha during the exchange, had apologised to the House for Bidhuri’s remarks soon after. However, Dubey claimed that Ali had “instigated” Bidhuri into making the communal slurs.
The Opposition had closed ranks behind Ali, with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal visiting the BSP MP, and the party, the DMK, Trinamool Congress and NCP seeking a Privileges Committee probe into Bidhuri’s remarks.
As the matter blew up, the BJP had issued a show cause notice to Bidhuri, seeking a reply within 10 days. Sources said that the BJP top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was angry over Bidhuri’s remarks, particularly as the controversy threatened to overshadow the landmark women’s Bill passed during the session.
However, earlier this week, the BJP gave Bidhuri the charge of Tonk district in poll-bound Rajasthan, which covers four Assembly constituencies and has a sizeable Muslim population.
Ali called this akin to “rewarding” hatred, and said the BJP’s true character had been “exposed”.
Thanking the Speaker for “investigation in the Danish Ali case”, Dubey posted on social media Thursday that this was due to the “majority” enjoyed by the BJP in the House. “It was possible today because the BJP has the majority in the Lok Sabha… otherwise it would have been like… the RJD-Congress-JD(U) fight for mike and shoes in 2006, the assault by Sonia Gandhi in 2012 or the physical scuff over the issue of Telangana formation in 2014 in which MPs were injured – that neither a committee would have been formed nor would anyone get punished.”
In his speech during the women’s quota Bill debate too, Dubey had raised these incidents of violence in Parliament.
The Parliament Privileges Committee makes recommendations “as it may deem fit” after examining the cases referred to it. It can summon the relevant people as part of the examination and look at records. There is no fixed timeline for its report.
Recently, the Privileges Committee recommended the revocation of suspension of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury over his remarks against PM Modi during the no-confidence motion debate.
