P Chidambaram Suggests Parliaments Hasn't Banned Any Words, Only Trying To Expand Limited Vocabulary

Amid the uproar over the words being considered 'unparliamentary', Congress leader P Chidambaram has said that the Parliament is only trying to improve the assembly member's vocabulary.

PTI

Updated on: 15 July 2022 3:34 am

Parliament has not "banned" any words, it is only trying to expand "your limited vocabulary", senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday in a jibe amid the row on a new list of 'unparliamentary' expressions.

Chidambaram's remarks came hours after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asserted that no word is banned from use in Parliament, but only expunged on the basis of context and all members are free to express their views.

The updated list of unparliamentary words include 'jumlajeevi', 'ashamed', 'taanashah', 'abused', 'betrayed', 'corrupt', 'drama', 'hypocrisy', 'incompetent', drawing sharp reaction from the opposition. "Parliament has not 'banned' any words. Parliament is only trying to expand your limited vocabulary," Chidambaram said.

"Don't be 'ashamed'. Just say you are 'mortified' by the Government's conduct. Don't call the government 'corrupt'. Just say they have stolen the people's money. Don't accuse the government of enacting a 'drama'. Just say the Government is staging a play," the former Union minister said. Let the government run to the Speaker and the Chairman and beg them to ban 'mortified', 'stolen', and 'play', Chidambaram said.

In a series of tweets, the Congress leader also asked that if the government is "incompetent", will it be right to describe it as an unparliamentary government. "If the law is 'abused' by the investigating agencies, will it be correct to accuse them of unparliamentary behavior and haul them up before the Committee on Privileges?" he said.

As a controversy erupted, Birla addressed a press conference to clarify the issue. He said bringing out such a booklet of unparliamentary words and expressions has been a practice since 1954. It is updated routinely including expunged words from state legislatures as well.

"No word has been banned. Members are free to express their views. No one can snatch that right, but it should be as per decorum of Parliament," Birla told reporters even as the opposition targeted the government, accusing it of listing every word used by them to "describe how BJP was destroying India" as unparliamentary.