TMC’s Saugata Roy Sparks Smoking Row In House: BJP Seeks ‘Exemplary Action’ As Clip Goes Viral

Last Updated:December 12, 2025, 12:53 IST

The incident blew up into a controversy as the video was widely shared on social media on Thursday. BJP MP Anurag Thakur has now filed an official complaint with Speaker Om Birla

BJP MP Anurag Thakur (right) filed a complaint as TMC MP Saugata Roy's video went viral. (PTI File)

Amid the ongoing winter session, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy has ignited a row with his smoking on Parliament premises.

The incident, which first led to mild reactions by other MPs who were witness to it, blew up into a controversy as the video was widely shared on social media on Thursday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur has now filed an official complaint with Speaker Om Birla.

Roy’s clip goes viral

The clip, which went viral on social media, showed Roy smoking on Parliament premises. Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who were seen standing nearby, even voiced concern about public health and the dignity of the House.

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

Why is it an issue?

India has banned electronic cigarettes under the Electronic Cigarettes (Prohibition) Act, 2019, making their manufacture, sale, import, export and advertising illegal, with jail terms and fines for violations.

Thakur first raises the issue on Thursday, files a complaint on Friday

Proceedings of the Lok Sabha were briefly disrupted during Question Hour on Thursday as Anurag Thakur accused “a Trinamool Congress MP" of smoking e-cigarette in the Lok Sabha for several days, insisting that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla take note of a violation of the nationwide vaping ban. He did not name Roy.

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.

As the controversy flared up, Thakur on Friday submitted an official complaint with the Speaker and sought disciplinary action against those at fault.

‘E-cigarette used during House sittings’: What Thakur said in his written complaint

Thakur’s complaint said: “I want to bring to your urgent notice a grave violation of the rules of the House as well as the laws that took place in the Lok Sabha chamber on 11th December 2025. A Member of Parliament belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress was seen openly using an electronic cigarette while seated in the House during the sittings. The act was clearly visible to several Members present and was duly brought to your notice by me during question hour."

He added: “The manufacture, production, import, export, transport, sale (including online sale), distribution, storage, and advertisement of electronic cigarettes was completely prohibited throughout India in 2019 through the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019."

“Possession and use of e-cigarettes in public places, including government buildings and Parliament House, is a punishable offence under the said 2019 Act. Even prior to the 2019 Act, the use of any form of smoking device, including electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), inside Parliament House has been strictly prohibited since 2008 under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA) and the rules framed thereunder, as well as the specific instructions issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat," said Thakur.

“The Lok Sabha Secretariat, in its circulars and guidelines issued from time to time (including those reiterating the ban after the 2019 Act), has clearly prohibited the carrying and use of e-cigarettes/vaping devices inside the Parliament complex. The open use of a banned substance and a prohibited device inside the sanctum sanctorum of Indian democracy, the Lok Sabha chamber, constitutes not only a blatant violation of parliamentary decorum and discipline but also a cognizable offence under the laws enacted by this very House," said the complaint.

“Such conduct lowers the dignity of the House, sets an extremely poor precedent, and sends a dangerous message to the youth of the country at a time when the Government and Parliament have taken a firm stand against all forms of tobacco and nicotine products," he said.

Thakur’s complaint seeks…

Immediate cognizance of this serious breach of rules and law

An inquiry into the incident through the appropriate committee or mechanism of the House

Appropriate disciplinary proceedings against the Member concerned as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha

Exemplary action taken and placed on record so that the sanctity and dignity of the House is upheld.

How other MPs, leaders reacted

“BJP MP Anurag Thakur raised this issue. E-cigarettes were prohibited in 2019, and if an MP smokes an E-cigarette inside the House, it hurts the dignity of the House…It is very unfortunate…This shows how much they (TMC) respect the House," Giriraj Singh told reporters.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, “As an MP, he (Saugata Roy) should know that smoking in public is a punishable offence…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."

BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also demanded that the TMC take action against the member involved. “There has been a complete ban on e-cigarettes across the country since 2019. The use of any such items is completely banned in the Parliament premises. But a TMC MP violated all these laws today," he said, adding, “The question is, will the TMC take action against its MP or wait for the Speaker to do so? They say they are defenders of parliamentary democracy. What action will the TMC take against the erring MP who lowered the dignity of the Parliament and the Constitution?"

Roy’s response

Roy on Friday dismissed the controversy, calling it “manufactured" and based on a false premise. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Roy said smoking is barred inside the House but not in open areas.

“There is no allegation. 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," Roy said.

“I cannot say anything about that, because I was not in the House and I don’t know who smoked and complained…It is for the Speaker to inquire and take action if it amounts to a violation of the rules…Why is it being made a political issue?" he said on Thursday.

‘Hundreds of Parliamentarians smoke on premises’: How TMC responded

TMC MP Kirti Azad, while talking to CNN-News18, asserted that he can name “hundreds of Parliamentarians who smoke on the premises".

“What if I say that a BJP MP takes 30 to 40 per cent of commission on MPLADS…Unless I prove it, it is not there, and I have to first go through the rules and procedures of the House, where you have to first inform the Speaker before you make any allegations," Azad said.

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