It is a war of words, literally. Not on the streets or office, it is at the Parliament the highest institution of lawmakers in India. A new compilation of ‘unparliamentary’ words created a political storm on Thursday, with Opposition parties accusing the Narendra Modi government of “throttling” the democracy by trying to “gag” them. A Member of Parliament can no longer be ashamed, feel betrayed or call out rampant ‘corruption’ on record within the Houses. On Thursday morning, a booklet was made public by the Lok Sabha secretariat. It was a list of words that are banned on the floors of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Media reported that many of the words had been considered unparliamentary even during the Congress-led UPA era and only 62 words were added. However, some of them may be under review.
As a barrage of tweets by Opposition leaders which flooded the micro-blogging site, the Centre put out a clarification. In fact, it lead the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to clarify that no word has been banned from use in Parliament. It looks as if it was a ‘litmus test’ which was being tried out but failed miserably as the Opposition latched on to this ‘opportunity’ to rake up this issue. The Speaker had to address the media to clarify just before the monsoon session of Parliament which is slated to begin from July 18.
On Thursday, in an attempt to allay the fears expressed by the Opposition, Om Birla clarified that no words or phrases have been banned in Parliament. “The members have absolute freedom to express their views but by maintaining the decorum,” he said. The decision to expunge is taken only with the instruction of the Speaker or the Chairman and the government has no role in it, he clarified. In the past, such compilations have been brought out in 1986, 1992, 1999, 2004 and 2009. After 2018, the list has been uploaded on the Lok Sabha intranet and the MPs portal.
The Speaker stressed that putting together list of ‘unparliamentary’ words is a tradition since 1959 and the latest list merely compiles words that have been found undignified in a specific context and expunged from the records by various Assemblies, Parliaments of Commonwealth countries and the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
Technically, the Speaker has the discretion under Rule 380 to expunge the word or usage. Once the Speaker expunges the word or its usage, it comes back to the reporting section which removes the word from the records and mentions in the proceedings as “expunged as ordered by the chair”. However, the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker will always have the last word in expunging words and expressions. It is their discretion and call of judgement in parliamentary proceedings.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in fact tweeted that “New Dictionary for New India,” and put up a photo to define the adjective “unparliamentary”. “Words used in discussion and debates which correctly describe the PM’s handling of the government, now banned from being spoken. Example of an unparliamentary sentence ‘JumlajeeviTanashah shed Crocodile Tears when his lies and incompetence were exposed’,” he expressed.
Undoubtedly the quality of language used in the temple of democracy, that is the Parliament had been stooping low gradually. Gone are the days when decorum of Parliament was maintained at its best. What now comes to the fore is the role of the Speaker in Lok Sabha or the Chairman in Rajya Sabha to ensure that the language used is proper which respects the decorum of the House. It is the job of these two leaders to ensure that all Members of Parliament abide by the rules and respect all members. Adding words of ‘unparliamentary’ words are mere suggestion and advisory, and not a rule.
