"Incorrigible": Tharoor's tweet against TV channel makes BJP MP complain

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) After a brief lull, BJP MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey has once again launched an attack on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, urging Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to nominate him in a different committee.

Dubey said the Congress lawmakers had become "incorrigible" for allegedly disregarding an advisory to the heads of standing committees to reiterate the confidentiality clause by ranting against companies who sponsor ads on Republic TV. The committee is currently seized of the matter.

This latest outburst of 3 pages comes in the wake of Tharoor's tweet on the alleged TRP scam that the parliamentary body is looking into. In a series of tweets, Tharoor hit out at Republic TV while questioning those who choose to advertise on that platform, calling it as "financing hate".

"Should such reputable companies be financing hate through ads on Repulsive TV? Raymonds, Muthoot Group, Jio, Max Bupa, Kent, Air India, Star Health Insurance, Nissan, Dabur, Mahindra, Amazon, Samsung, Sony, Maruti, Nerolac, Toyota. Can they find the moral courage to be like Parle?" read one of the tweets of Tharoor that Dubey has cited in his complaint to Om Birla.

"...without caring for your advisory and the dignity which a public representative, in the capacity of a Chairperson of a Parliamentary Committee is required to exhibit, Dr Tharoor had again started his provoking tweets," wrote Dubey.

He alleged that Tharoor has "yet again compromised" the confidentiality clause.

"It is an abject display of truant behaviour on the part of Dr Tharoor to abusively call 'Republic TV' as 'Repulsive TV' and also making unsubstantiated insinuations and rant against various reputable companies/entities like Raymonds, Air India, Maruti, Dabur, etc," added Dubey in his letter to Birla.

This comes after a war of words between Tharoor and Dubey over Tharoor commenting on Facebook's alleged inaction in cases of certain incidents of alleged hate speeches. The Tharoor led committee was also probing the matter back then.

Following Dubey's raising the matter, Birla in a letter had sought to remind all panel chairpersons of Rule 270 of the 'Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha'. The rule says that the "Committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records". But, "if any question arises whether the evidence of a person or the production of a document is relevant for the purposes of the committee, the question shall be referred to the Speaker whose decision shall be final."

Dubey had demanded Tharoor's removal back then. This advisory came in the wake of that demand.

Now, after a brief lull, Dubey is back with his complaint of another instance of Tharoor's alleged violation of the confidentiality clause. But this time around he asked Birla to nominate him to another committee, citing Tharoor being "incorrigible".