Adhir Ranjan demands withdrawal of 'unparliamentary expression' list

Lok Sabha MP and West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought withdrawal of the new booklet listing out unparliamentary words and expressions.

A major row erupted over a 50-page compilation of words deemed unfit for use in Parliament, ahead of the Monsoon session beginning July 18.

The Congress leader also pointed out that this 'sensitive matter' should have been discussed in the Rules Committee, where all the political parties are represented.

"I wish to bring to your kind attention a matter of serious Parliamentary concern. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has come out with a new booklet regarding a list of wards deemed unparliamentary. The list includes words like 'ashamed', 'abused', 'betrayed', 'corrupt', 'drama', 'hypocrisy', 'incompetent'," wrote Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

"I would like to point out that there are so many common words used in our day-to-day conversation which have been included in the fresh list. If these words are taken out of the general vocabulary, the very essence and the impact of expression would be minimised. Further, the Lok Sabha Secretariat should have mentioned the substitutes for these banned words so that it would have been easier for all of us to use the substitutes," he added.

"I may also like to point out that sensitive matter should have been discussed in the Rules Committee where all the political parties are represented. None of the political parties have been consulted on this sensitive matter," he said.

He further requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to put this latest list of unparliamentary words in abeyance and asked the final list to be prepared in consultation with all political parties.

Following the opposition's criticism of the 50-page compilation of words deemed unfit for use in Parliament released by the Lok Sabha secretariat, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said that "no words have been banned."

Earlier on Thursday, amid the row over the questioning of the Lok Sabha secretariat by the Opposition over words listed as "unparliamentary", top sources in the Lower House said that such removal of words has been taking place since 1954 under various political dispensations.

Taking a dig at the Centre, Aam Admi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday said it is good to know that the Government of India knows "adjectives that accurately describe its performance".He said that the Government of India is fearful of the truth and that words like 'jumlajeevi' became unparliamentary while 'andolanjeevi' remains there.

Amid the row over the questioning of the Lok Sabha secretariat by the Opposition over words listed as "unparliamentary", top sources in the Lower House on Thursday said that such removal of words has been taking place since 1954 under various political dispensations.

Earlier, several senior members of Parliament had criticized the report of the Lok Sabha Secretariat which had released a list of words that have been designated as "unparliamentary".

"Any word spoken which is against the ethos of Parliament or disrespectful in nature and can compromise the dignity of the house. The discretion lies with the chair to expunge them," sources had said.

"Such compilation has been made since 1954 under various political dispensations. From time to time this has been brought out under various political dispensations," sources had added.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat gave some examples of certain words that had been expunged earlier.

"The word 'dishonest' was first expunged in a Rajya Sabha debate on August 17, 2011. Similarly, the word 'dishonesty' was first expunged in the Lok Sabha debate on March 3, 2011," sources had said.

As part of a Parliament record, the word 'Shame' was expunged on March 21, 2012.

The word 'cheating' was taken off the Parliament records as unparliamentary in the Rajya Sabha debate on March 20, 2012."The chair had expunged the words 'Chori' and 'loot' first time in the Lok Sabha debate on March 13, 2012 and 'jhooth' on April 27, 2012," sources had said.

The words 'corrupt' and 'corrupt man' were expunged from the Parliament records on November 17, 1966, in a Lok Sabha debate."Ayogya - incompetent- first expunged on November 17, 1966, from Parliament records of a Lok Sabha debate," sources had said.

Similarly, plenty of such removals have taken place over the years.

Referring to the reaction of the Opposition, the government sources had said this is a result of their "bankrupt politics" as the list is not a new suggestion, but merely a compilation of words already expunged in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, or state legislatures. It also contains a list of words considered unparliamentary in parliaments of Commonwealth countries.

"It is abused was considered unparliamentary in Australia's House of Representatives. Childishness was considered unparliamentary in Quebec's National Assembly. Lollipops in the budget were expunged from Punjab Assembly. You have reached where telling a lie was expunged from Punjab Assembly," said the sources.

The list comes just ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament that begins on July 18.

Usage of many words - such as 'corruption', 'corrupt', 'Jumlajeevi', 'tanashah', 'Dictator', 'black', and 'Khalistani' are among those that have been banned.

Senior members of Parliament including Jairam Ramesh Derek O'Brien and Randeep Surjewala Priyanka Chaturvedi had questioned the intent behind such a notification.

Derek O'Brien in a tweet had said: "Session begins in a few days. Gag order issued on MPs. Now, we will not be allowed to use these basic words while delivering a speech in Parliament: Ashamed. Abused. Betrayed. Corrupt. Hypocrisy. Incompetent. I will use all these words. Suspend me. Fighting for democracy.