Anurag Thakur urges Speaker to act against Trinamool member over using e-cigarette in LS chamber
New Delhi, Dec 12 (LatestNewsX) – Anurag Singh Thakur, the former Union Minister and a senior BJP MP, sent a formal note to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday. In the letter, he lodged a serious grievance over a TMC MP who allegedly smoked an electronic cigarette inside the parliament chamber, calling it a blatant breach of House rules and statutory law.
Thakur said witnesses observed the TMC member using the device while seated during the session, and that several other members could easily see it. He had already raised the issue with the Speaker during Thursday’s Question Hour.
“In this communication, I urgently draw your attention to a grave violation of our House’s rules and the laws that transpired in the Lok Sabha chamber on Thursday,” Thakur wrote.
He reminded the Speaker that manufacturing, selling, importing, exporting, transporting, storing, advertising or distributing e‑cigarettes is fully prohibited nationwide under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019.
“Again, possession and use of e‑cigarettes in public places, including government premises and Parliament House, is an offence punishable under the 2019 Act,” he added.
Thakur further noted that even before the 2019 legislation, any smoking device, including electronic nicotine delivery systems, was banned in Parliament House since 2008, under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, along with the rules and instructions issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
“The Lok Sabha Secretariat’s circulars and guidelines—issued repeatedly and reaffirming the ban after the 2019 Act—have made it clear that e‑cigarettes or vaping devices cannot be carried or used within the Parliament complex,” he said.
He argued that allowing a prohibited substance and device to be openly used in the Lok Sabha chamber undermines not only decorum but also constitutes a cognisable offence under Parliament’s laws.
“Such behaviour tarnishes the dignity of the House, sets an awful precedent, and sends a dangerous message to our youth at a time when Parliament and the government are taking a firm stand against all tobacco and nicotine products,” Thakur warned.
He urged Speaker Birla to act immediately: to establish an inquiry through the suitable committee or mechanism of the House and to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the member in line with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
During Thursday’s Question Hour, Thakur had accused an unnamed TMC member of vaping in the House, prompting Speaker Birla to pledge that proper action would be taken. When the Speaker declined to allow e‑cigarettes in the House, Thakur clarified that a TMC leader had been “constantly using an e‑cigarette in the House for the past several days.” The Speaker, amid the controversy, reminded members to preserve the dignity of the House and said he would respond if a written complaint were submitted.
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