Smoke in Central Hall gets in the eyes of young MPs

Lighting up a cigarette could become a guilty pleasure for members of Parliament if newly-elected MP from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal has his way.

Jindal, who became famous for winning a court case allowing people to fly the national flag in their homes, said he was shocked to find that despite a ban on smoking in public places, MPs were lighting up along with their mid-morning cuppa in the Central Hall of Parliament.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Jindal has urged him to  ban smoking in Parliament. The incidence of smoking at the very seat of legislation, which had enacted a law against it was objectionable, Jindal said in his letter.

Apart from the health consequence of the act, Jindal considers smoking "un-cool". "You will notice that none of the younger MPs smoke. It is out. Our generation is more health conscious," said the Congress MP.

According to sources, a large number of older MPs do smoke, giving credence to Jindal's statement. The chain-smokers are Prabhunath Singh of the Janata Dal (United), former Speaker Purno Sangma and a large number of the Left leaders including senior member Gurudas Dasgupta.

So Jindal's letter will not help him win a popularity contest in Parliament, especially in the CPI(M), currently the Congress' closest friend.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who owns a Rs 400 crore tobacco and bidi empire, told Business Standard Jindal's enthusiasm should be put down to young blood.

"Garam khoon hai. Ublega", Patel said grinning, adding that he was not part of the "un-cool" clique. "I used to smoke but gave it up some years ago. In fact, it was I who was responsible for bringing nicotine replacement therapy to India first," he said.

The Northern Railway cafeteria, which serves members light refreshments during breaks, sells branded cigarettes on its counter so that members are not inconvenienced and do not have to leave the Parliament House to buy cigarettes.

"Even if they do not sell cigarettes, members can smoke elsewhere. If you have made the law, why not follow it," Jindal said. Jindal has asked the rest of the young MPs' brigade including Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora and Madhu Goud Yaskhi to send letters in support of a ban.

The ban on tobacco in public places law was enacted after the government lost a court case, Murli S Deora Vs Union of India, over ban on smoking in public places. Since then the ban has been effective only in omission. Hence the institution that made the law does not follow it, comes as no surprise.

Another Congress MP Vijay Darda has also written to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker to evolve modalities for prohibiting smoking in the lobbies and the central hall of Parliament.

"During the current session of Parliament it has generally been observed that MPs smoke in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha lobbies and in the Central Hall also," he said in the letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

"If the lawmakers themselves resort to breaking the law prohibiting smoking in public places, it is certainly not an ideal situation," said Darda, who is also chairman of the Lokmat Group of Newspapers.