Ramesh Bidhuri, Danish Ali appear before Lok Sabha privileges panel

The row erupted after Bidhuri made the remarks, later expunged by the Speaker from the records, during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the special session of Parliament on September 21.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in Lok Sabha during the exchange, had apologised to the House for Bidhuri's remarks soon after. (File)

The Lok Sabha Privileges Committee probing the complaints around BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of communal slurs against BSP MP Danish Ali in the House in September took oral evidence from both MPs on Thursday, it is learnt.

Having got detailed responses from both MPs, the 14-member committee headed by BJP’s Sunil Kumar Singh will now prepare a report on the matter.

The row erupted after Bidhuri made the remarks, later expunged by the Speaker from the records, during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the special session of Parliament on September 21.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in Lok Sabha during the exchange, had apologised to the House for Bidhuri’s remarks soon after.

The matter was referred to the Privileges Committee after Ali and other Opposition MPs sought action against Bidhuri and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Ali of “instigating” Bidhuri into making the communal slurs.

Ali had later written to the Speaker, asking for the footage of the exchange to be sent to panel members. He had also expressed anguish over being treated as a co-accused rather than someone who was wronged.

In the summons, the panel had asked Ali to appear before it at 3 pm Thursday while Bidhuri was told to appear at 3.20 pm to present oral evidence on complaints by various members regarding their improper conduct in the House on September 21.

Vikas Pathak

Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More

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