Bidhuri was wrong, but probe Ali’s ‘unsavoury’ conduct too: BJP MP to Speaker

Amid the row over BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s abusive outburst at Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (September 21), fellow party MP Nishikant Dubey has claimed the Speaker should also probe Ali’s “unsavoury” conduct and remarks.

In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, Dubey on Saturday (September 23) accused BSP MP Ali of offering a running commentary during Bidhuri’s speech and making unsavoury remarks aimed at instigating him to lose his composure.

Dubey alleged that Ali also made a “highly objectionable and blasphemous” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He used a “neech” barb, the BJP leader claimed, saying it was more than enough for “any patriotic public representative to lose his calm and fall into his trap by uttering unsavoury words”.

Condemnation for Bidhuri’s comments

Dubey was, however, categorical in condemning Bidhuri’s comments, saying no decent society can justify them and they cannot be condemned enough.

“But the Lok Sabha Speaker should also probe the unsavoury remarks and conduct of Danish Ali. Under Lok Sabha rules, obstructing another MP during the time allotted to him, speaking while sitting, and giving a running commentary also call for punishment,” he posted on X.

In his letter, Dubey said TMC and DMK members have also made comments about the faith of another community. What he has written is a verifiable fact, he claimed.

If Bidhuri has committed an inappropriate act, then other members, including Ali, have also contributed in spreading enmity amongst communities, he alleged.

“I, therefore, request you to constitute an Inquiry Committee to investigate the utterances made by various members during the said discussion and also to inquire the extent of culpability of various other members of Parliament in instigating our citizens by way of their comments made in the House,” he wrote to the Speaker.

An unsavoury incident

Dubey said he has been a Lok Sabha MP for nearly 15 years and stays in the House throughout, spending more time than others. “I never thought that I would witness such a day,” he added.

Bidhuri’s abusive outburst in the House on Thursday embarrassed the BJP and sparked outrage, with Speaker Om Birla issuing him a warning and his own party serving a show-cause notice on him. Bidhuri’s remarks were expunged from parliamentary records.

Opposition parties have rallied around Ali, who has sought action against Bidhuri, and targeted the ruling party over the issue. Members of the Congress, TMC, and NCP, among others, have written to the Speaker seeking action against Bidhuri.

Dubey, one of the more vocal faces of the BJP in Lok Sabha, said the issue of breach of privilege about which Ali and some others MPs have been vociferous cannot be applied in isolation, as otherwise there will be a serious and irrevocable "miscarriage of justice".

(With agency inputs)