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NEW DELHI: Action is mandated if an MP violates Parliament’s dignity, Speaker Om Birla asserted on Monday, hinting at proceedings against a Trinamool member accused of vaping inside Lok Sabha, in case the charge is established. Birla recalled that parliamentarians have been even stripped of their membership for misconduct, though insisting that it is for LS, and not him, to make the decision after a parliamentary committee recommends action. The probe into BJP MP Anurag Thakur’s complaint against the opposition MP, who was not named, for e-smoking during proceedings in the last session is nearing completion, he added. Birla confirmed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her ninth Budget on Feb 1. Though govt had indicated that it will stick to the convention of presenting the Budget on Feb 1, Birla’s is the first official voice to declare the same. Parliamentarians are meant to work all the time and should not be seen as employees, the Speaker added. On Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), which India will host after 16 years, he said Pakistan will not be a part of it, nor will Bangladesh, as the latter has had no Speaker since dissolution of its parliament by the interim govt, which has announced a fresh election. India will be hosting the biggest edition of CSPOC, with 42 of 56 member nations, including UK, Australia and Canada, having confirmed their participation. Asked if Lok Sabha has followed the rules in constituting an inquiry committee to probe the charge of corruption against Justice Yashwant Varma, Birla said it has put forth its views in Supreme Court, which has reserved its decision on the Allahabad HC judge’s legal challenge. Varma has argued that since a notice for his removal was submitted in RS on the same day as in LS, both Houses should have been part of the consultation process and the speaker should not have announced the committee unilaterally. RS has told SC that it had never admitted the opposition-sponsored notice as it was “defective” on many counts.
