NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla addressed the media in Parliament House Complex ON Thursday, and clarified certain facts related to the inclusion of new words in the publication ‘List of Unparliamentary Words’.
Speaking on this occasion, Birla said that Members of Parliament have been given freedom of expression under the Constitution of India.
Emphasizing that no words or phrases have been banned in the Parliament, Birla said that all Members have complete freedom to express their views in the Parliament. He further said that the decision to expunge any words or phrases from the proceedings of the House is taken only on the instructions of the Speaker or the Chairman and that there is no interference by the Government in this regard.
Birla informed that the compilations of unparliamentary words under rules 380 and 381 of the Rules of Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha are published regularly. He further said that the words included in these compilations are for the guidance of Presiding Officers, MPs, and MLAs.
“There is a long tradition of publication of ‘Unparliamentary words and phrases’ by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the first such compilation was brought out in the year 1954,” said Birla.
Birla also told that the compilation of unparliamentary words is only a compilation of such words which have been expunged from their proceedings in the past by one or the other legislature.
Birla said, “Such compilations have been brought out in the years 1986, 1992, 1999, 2004, and 2009. In 2018, this compilation has been uploaded on the Lok Sabha intranet and Members’ Portal for the use of Members of Parliament. Shri Birla also clarified that during discussions, the Presiding Officer of the House, if they think fit, can refer to the records of those words or phrases which have been expunged earlier.”