MP seeks Tharoor's disqualification from Parliament over 'Indian variant' remarks
What's the story
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to disqualify Congress party leader Shashi Tharoor from the Indian Parliament. Dubey, a parliamentarian from Jharkhand, alleged in his letter that Tharoor has called B.1.617 as the "Indian variant" of the novel coronavirus, which he says is both "unscientific and derogatory."
Letter
'Why would an Indian MP use derogatory language toward Indians?'
In a letter to Birla, Dubey wrote, "Tharoor...used the word 'Indian Variant' when WHO has itself said that there is no such variant." "As per WHO, the nomenclature for this variant is B.1.617. It is beyond my comprehension why an Indian MP would use language that is unscientific and derogatory toward Indians (sic)," he added.
Quote
'Surpassed all the limits of responsible behavior'
"This time, he has surpassed all the limits of responsible behavior through his recent tweets, which are in a way also helping our enemy country to echo in various international fora our nation as an incapable country without any vision," Dubey went on. "Therefore, all his recent irresponsible acts call for his immediate disqualification from the membership of Lok Sabha," he opined.
History
Dubey has often criticized Tharoor over IT issues
Dubey has time and again criticized Tharoor on various issues related to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, which Tharoor chairs and Dubey is a member of. Last August, he had sought the removal of Tharoor as the panel chief in the wake of the allegations that Facebook favored BJP leaders despite posting "hate speech" on the online platform.
'Toolkit' controversy
Dubey's letter comes amid Congress 'toolkit' controversy
Dubey's letter has come even as BJP continues to allege the Congress party has prepared a "toolkit" with an aim to defame the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their handling of India's devastating second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. The government also reacted sharply after Twitter labeled BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra's tweet on the alleged toolkit as "manipulated media."
Other developments
Delhi Police visits Twitter offices over the case
On May 19, the Congress party had filed a police complaint seeking registration of cases against BJP chief JP Nadda, party spokesperson Patra, General Secretary BL Santosh, and others, over the allegations pertaining to the toolkit. Last evening, a team of the Delhi Police visited Twitter offices in South Delhi and Gurugram in connection with the case.