The words “corrupt” and “Jumlajeevi” have been banned in parliament

Jumlajeevi, “baal buddhi,” “Covid spreading,” and “Snoopgate” have been added to a list of phrases deemed unacceptable for use in parliament ahead of a new session beginning on Monday. They join commonplace terms like “ashamed,” “abused,” “betrayed,” “corrupt,” “drama,” “hypocrisy,” and “incompetent.”

The Lok Sabha secretariat has released a new handbook listing unparliamentary phrases for both houses, prompting immediate concerns from opposition legislators who claim it will limit their capacity to criticise the administration. Words like “anarchist,” “Shakuni,” “dictatorial,” “taanashah,” “taanashahi,” “Jaichand,” “vinash purush,” “Khalistani,” and “khoon se kheti” would also be omitted if used in debates or in other contexts, according to the booklet, which is released ahead of the Monsoon session, which starts on Monday.

The same fate awaits “Dohra charitra,” “nikamma,” “nautanki,” “dhindora peetn,” and “behri sarkar.” But when it comes to removing phrases and terms, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha will have the final say. The decree infuriated the opposition, and Derek O’Brien of Trinamool issued an open challenge, stating that he would continue to use the phrases.

Mahua Moitra, a member of parliament for the Trinamool party, tweeted, “You mean I can’t stand up in Lok Sabha & talk about how Indians have been misled by an inept government who should be embarrassed of their hypocrisy?” The Lok Sabha secretariat’s list has a disclaimer stating that certain terms may not be considered impermissible unless they are used in conjunction with other words used during parliamentary proceedings.The list of prohibited statements also includes any disparaging remarks directed towards the Chair in either English or Hindi, which are deemed unparliamentary and removed from the Parliament’s records.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright