Bidhuri remarks row: Jamiat calls incident 'shameful', urges speaker to take action

Amid an uproar over BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri's derogatory remarks against BSP parliamentarian Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha, prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Saturday said it was a ''shameful incident'' in the democratic history of India and it was the constitutional as well as moral responsibility of Speaker Om Birla to take action in the matter.

Bidhuri's remarks targeting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Ali during a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan-3 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday triggered a massive furore, with opposition leaders calling for strict action against him.

In a statement, Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani said the manner in which an MP from the ruling party used unparliamentary language for a Muslim MP in Parliament is a ''shameful incident'' in the democratic history of the country.

After seeing what happened, Madani said, it can be stated that ''extreme hatred'' against Muslims has now reached the ''temple of democracy''.

He said had any opposition MP used such language in the House, he would have been immediately thrown out and strict action would have been taken against him.

''The Supreme Court has issued an order to take action against hate speech ... action has also been taken in some cases, but since this is a matter of Parliament, the speaker has full authority to take action,'' Madani said.

He asserted that it is the constitutional and moral responsibility of the speaker to order action against the MP who used such language.

Birla has warned Bidhuri of ''strict action'' if such behaviour is repeated and Ali has asserted that he could consider quitting the membership of the House if no step is taken.

The INDIA bloc parties have rallied behind Ali, who has said it was nothing less than hate speech and demanded that the matter be referred to the privileges committee of the House even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a show-cause notice to Bidhuri.

Amid calls from several opposition parties for Bidhuri's suspension from Parliament, the speaker took ''serious note'' of the comments and warned the Lok Sabha member from South Delhi of ''strict action'' if such behaviour is repeated in the future.