Parliament Winter session: BJP MP Anurag Thakur seeks action over e-cigarette use in Lok Sabha

BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Friday (December 12, 2025) asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take action against a Trinamool Congress MP for allegedly smoking an e-cigarette inside the House.

E-cigarettes were banned in the country a few years ago.

Mr. Thakur, who raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (December 11), submitted a written complaint to the Speaker on Friday, seeking action against the TMC lawmaker.

“A Member of Parliament belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress was seen openly using an electronic cigarette while seated in the House during the sittings,” Mr. Thakur said in his complaint, adding that the act was “clearly visible” to several members present.

The complaint further said that the “open use” of a banned substance and a prohibited device inside the ‘sanctum sanctorum’ of Indian democracy constitutes not only a blatant violation of parliamentary decorum and discipline but also a cognisable offence under the laws enacted by the House.

Such conduct lowers the dignity of the House, sets an “extremely poor precedent” and sends a dangerous message to the youth at a time when the government and Parliament have taken a firm stand against all forms of tobacco and nicotine products, the Hamirpur MP said.

He “earnestly” requested the Speaker to take immediate cognisance of this serious breach of rules and law; direct an inquiry into the incident through the appropriate committee or mechanism of the House”.

He also asked Mr Birla to initiate “appropriate disciplinary proceedings against the member concerned” as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.

When the issue was raised by the BJP MP on Thursday (December 11), the Speaker had assured that if a written complaint is lodged on the matter, he will take action.