BJP MP writes to Om Birla, demands Shashi Tharoor's removal as chairperson of IT Panel

In a letter to Om Birla, Dubey said that a majority of members have exhibited their 'No Confidence' on the continuance of Tharoor as chairperson of the committee

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday urged the Lok Sabha speaker to "initiate urgent action and dismiss" Congress leader Shashi Tharoor from the parliamentary standing committee on information technology's chairmanship, saying otherwise he will continue to raise "irrelevant issues".

Dubey is a member of the panel.

The demand for Tharoor's removal comes days after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology was set to question government officials on the Pegasus spyware issue.

Also Read | Tharoor urges Birla to take action over officials' 'last-minute refusal' to attend IT panel meet

However, the meeting which was scheduled for Wednesday could not take place as the panel's BJP members panel did not sign the attendance register, even though they were present in the meeting room along with members from the opposition, leading to a lack of quorum.

In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, Dubey said that a majority of members have exhibited their 'No Confidence' on the continuance of Tharoor as chairperson of the committee.

Demanding Congress leader's removal from the chairmanship of the parliamentary panel, he alleged that Tharoor is involved in questionable activities, inside the House as well as in the committee to tarnish the image of the democracy.

"I once again request your good self to initiate urgent action against Dr Shashi Tharoor and dismiss him from the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology as otherwise he would continue raising irrelevant issues before you and the media...," the BJP MP said in his letter.

Terming Tharoor's demand for action against government officials for not attending the last meeting of the panel, Dubey said it is against the conventions followed by the parliamentary committees.

Also Read | From 'Bihari Gunda' to 'ping pong match': Pegasus row heats up

"It is also a matter of record that till date, no Parliamentary Committee - either serviced by Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha - has ever initiated any privilege proceedings against the officials of the Government of India who expressed their inability to appear before any Committee due to administrative exigencies," Dubey said.

"But, Dr. Tharoor, who is known for his 'eccentric nature' as well as 'acute psychological disorder and disorientation' has not honoured this tacit 'concept of mutual respect' between the two organs of the governance i.e., the 'Executive' and the 'Legislature', purely due to his parochial objective of loosening the noose of his 'sacking' from the chairmanship of the committee on information technology," he alleged in his letter.

Without naming anyone, Tharoor tweeted a quote from Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw.

"To the journalists asking for my response to certain uncouth & obnoxious comments, this is why I have no intention of replying!" he said on Twitter with Shaw's quote -- "I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."

The Congress MP in a letter to Birla has demanded action against ministry officials for their "last-minute refusal" to attend a panel meeting on Wednesday, saying that it is "contempt of the House".

The committee was expected to discuss the Pegasus snooping case in its last meeting.