New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Almost a week after facing unparliamentary remarks from BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Kunwar Danish Ali on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting threat and sought his immediate attention to uphold and protect parliamentary decorum past principles and ethics.
In his three page letter, Ali, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha reminded the Prime Minister about the shameful events that occurred on the floor of the House.
“As the Leader of the House, I beseech your immediate attention to this. As you must be aware, the situation has significantly worsened since September 21, 2023, and it has casted a shadow over the parliamentary decorum and democratic functioning of our esteemed House of which I am privileged to be a member. In your capacity as the Leader of the House and the Prime Minister of our great nation. I trust that you would find it deeply concerning that Bidhuri resorted to using unparliamentary and abusive language,” the BSP MP said in his letter.
He said that although the Prime Minister was not present in the House on the mentioned day, “Bidhuri used inappropriate language when referring to you during his address.”
“I raised an objection to the use of such language in relation to the Prime Minister, even if it was a quotation. It is evident from the House proceedings that none of the members from the ruling party objected to my stance against the use of unparliamentary language directed at you. However, when I rose and pointed out to Bidhuri’s use of unparliamentary language towards you, he got rattled and reacted strongly, possibly realising his mistake.
“He began making highly offensive attacks against me on the floor of the House to divert the attention of the House,” he said, referring to the words used against him by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) south Delhi Lok Sabha MP.
He alleged that Bidhuri, displayed a complete disregard for the high decorum of the House, also in the same breath verbally threatened me, stated his intention to confront me outside the House.
“While the incident in question received condemnation from most House members, including some from the BJP, there has been a continuous effort to damage my reputation and perpetuate false claims since September 21,” he said.
Referring to some BJP MPs coming in support of Bidhuri, the BSP leader further said that despite the events in Lok Sabha being evident to everyone, certain members have chosen to spread falsehoods about my behaviour.
He said that the BJP MPs have attributed statements to him that were never spoken by him during any parliamentary session.
He also said that BJP MPs like Nishikant Dubey have even gone as far as to disseminate absolute falsehoods by asserting that I made certain remarks which provoked Bidhuri when it is clear that those remarks were made by Bidhuri during his address.
“I was the one who raised objection to the use of such language in the House,” he said.
Ali also questioned that why no member from the treasury benches addressed or contested such statements if any such thing was said by him.
“Could it be inferred that these members do not accord sufficient respect to the Prime Minister and only Bidhuri does? The current attempt to place blame on me, subsequent to my objection to the use of unparliamentary language, appears incongruous in this context.
“Such behaviour not only fails to align with the expected conduct of an elected representative but also represents a serious breach of parliamentary decorum and the principles of democratic discourse,” he said.
He also mentioned about the threat issued to him by the Bidhuri and said that these things have raised substantial apprehensions regarding his personal safety and security.
He also alleged that Bidhuri’s threats to confront him outside the Parliament in a manner more akin to a street altercation than a parliamentary setting, certain unknown individuals are persistently sending me threatening and menacing messages.
“These messages, which I suspect are orchestrated, employ not only harsh language but also explicitly threaten my life and physical well-being,” he said.
This incident, along with the later developments I have outlined, had created a pervasive atmosphere of apprehension and vulnerability around me. As the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure the free speech and well-being of all Members of Parliament, irrespective of political affiliations, he pointed out.
He demanded the Prime Minister to make a public statement from his office condemning such behaviour and reaffirming his commitment towards maintaining highest standards of parliamentary proceedings would go a long way in reassuring the entire country and to remind all MPs of the importance of upholding the highest standards of decorum and conduct within the House as the whole world looks upon us as a torchbearer of parliamentary democracy.
He also said that the accountability should be fixed at the earliest on the reprehensible conduct of Bidhuri and he should be suitably punished so that no one can repeat such an act ever in the House.
He demanded to strengthen the security arrangements around him as it is imperative that he along with other parliamentarians, be able to discharge our duties without doubts for our safety.
