‘1 Cigarette Won’t Change Anything’: TMC MP's Pollution Dig Amid Smoking Row

Last Updated:December 12, 2025, 19:55 IST

TMC MP Saugata Roy was seen smoking a cigarette outside Parliament on Thursday, prompting a sharp exchange with Union Ministers.

TMC MP Saugata Roy seen with cigarette on Parliament premises (Video screengrabs)

A political slugfest broke out over the alleged smoking inside the Parliament premises, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking disciplinary action against a Trinamool Congress MP for allegedly using e-cigarettes in the premises.

The controversy escalated after TMC MP Saugata Roy was seen smoking a cigarette outside Parliament on Thursday, prompting a sharp exchange with Union Ministers.

However, he responded to the controversy today and took a jibe at the government, saying that it is diverting attention from the national capital’s pollution crisis.

“Smoking cigarettes inside the House is prohibited, but there is no objection to smoking cigarettes in the open space outside the House. Pollution in Delhi is at its highest during the BJP government. They should focus on this instead of making such allegations. Smoking one cigarette won’t change anything," he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

Roy’s Smoking Row

A video, which has gone viral on social media platforms, showed Roy smoking a cigarette within the Parliament complex, which led to mild reprimand from other MPs who were witness to it.

Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Giriraj Singh confronted the Trinamool MP and voiced concern about public health and the dignity of the House.

“You are endangering public health, dada," Shekhawat is heard saying.

“As a responsible Member of Parliament, he should also reflect on what kind of message he is sending to the people of this country through such conduct and behaviour. He must consider whether his actions are adding to Delhi’s pollution or helping reduce it," he added.

Roy, however, maintained he had not violated any rule, saying he was smoking in the open and not inside the building.

Anurag Thakur Files Complaint

As the controversy flared, BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who earlier accused an unnamed TMC MP of smoking an e-cigarette inside the Lok Sabha, on Friday submitted an official complaint with the Speaker and sought disciplinary action against those at fault.

Thakur said a Trinamool MP had “been smoking e-cigarettes for days" and asked if the Chair had ever allowed such conduct. “This is for the House to know that e-cigarettes are banned in the country. I want to ask the Lok Sabha Speaker whether he has allowed smoking e-cigarettes in the House. A TMC MP has been smoking e-cigarettes for days inside the Lok Sabha," Thakur told the Chair.

Speaker Om Birla replied that no rules or precedents permit smoking of any kind inside the House, adding that he would act if concrete evidence were presented. “If such an incident is brought to my notice with clarity, appropriate action will follow," Birla said.

E-cigarettes have been banned under the Electronic Cigarettes (Prohibition) Act, 2019, which prohibits their production, sale, import, export, and advertising, with penalties including jail terms and fines.

News politics ‘1 Cigarette Won’t Change Anything’: TMC MP's Pollution Dig Amid Smoking Row

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