After Opposition outrage over 'unparliamentary words', Speaker Om Birla says no word banned, but display decorum

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 14

After the Opposition outrage over the alleged censorship of parliamentarians in the wake of the Lok Sabha publishing a compendium of “unparliamentary words”, Speaker Om Birla today said there was no ban on the use of any word and the list only featured expressions and words deemed unparliamentary and expunged over the years by presiding officers of the national and state legislatures.

Editorial: Unduly prickly: List of unparliamentary words must be reviewed

“There is no cause to mislead the country. No word has been banned from usage. It has been the practice since 1954 to publish expressions that presiding officers of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state Assemblies have considered unparliamentary and, hence, expunged from records. This is not the first time the Lok Sabha has published this list. There is an 1,100-page dictionary also of such words which everyone is well advised to read,” Birla said.

Words expunged over years

The practice of listing expunged words deemed unparliamentary dates back to 1954 and is not new. — Om Birla, Lok Sabha Speaker

The Speaker’s statement came after the Congress, TMC and the Shiv Sena termed the list a “gag order” for MPs, alleging that the words termed unparliamentary were mainly the ones the Opposition had been using with reference to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government.

“Words used in discussions and debates which correctly describe the PM’s handling of the government now banned from being spoken,” former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, currently abroad, tweeted. TMC’s Derek O Brien said: “Now, we will not be allowed to use these basic words while delivering a speech in Parliament: Ashamed. Abused. Betrayed. Corrupt. Hypocrisy. Incompetent. I will use all these words. Suspend me. Fighting for democracy.”

The Speaker said LS practices were well known to all MPs who were “wise and knowledgeable”.

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