new delhi: Amid the unparliamentary words row, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said he would treat the list of words as indicative rather than definitive and "speak normally" in the House and see whether it is applied in a "draconian manner" to stifle meaningful criticism.
In an interview, Tharoor said the list is a compilation of words that have been deemed unparliamentary by various presiding officers in the last couple of years, and asserted that what will matter is how it is applied in practice.
Some are regular words which feature in parliamentary debates all the time and it is possible they were expunged in a specific context that would not apply in other contexts, the former Union minister said.
"In any case a ruling by one presiding officer is not necessarily binding on another. So I would treat this list as indicative rather than definitive, I would speak normally and see whether it is applied in a draconian manner to stifle
meaningful criticism," Tharoor said.
As always, implementation is the key, not the list itself, the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram asserted. Asked about some seeing the list as a "gag order," Tharoor said it is not an instruction but an indication.
"Expunging always takes place after unparliamentary words have been spoken and not in anticipation. So no one need feel gagged," he said.
Asked about the circular by the Rajya Sabha secretariat stating that demonstrations, dharnas cannot be held in the precincts of Parliament House, Tharoor said there are many such rules, but the evolution of parliamentary practice in India has featured frequent violations of rules and disruptions, often preceded by slogan-shouting, demonstrations with placards and thronging the well of the House, all of which are explicitly prohibited.