A couple of days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the issue of conflict of interest in the panel, looking into the rules regarding tobacco sale in the country, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday made it clear that anybody having conflict of interest is supposed to declare it as per rules.
The observation has come amid accusation from all sectors including Congress which has slammed the Government for “propagating and promoting tobacco lobby” in India at the common man’s peril and wondered whether former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was removed from the Ministry last year due to his anti-tobacco stand.
Citing Parliamentary rules, Naidu refused to comment if the RS member and beedi baron Shyam Charan Gupta, who is under fire for having conflict of interest, has been asked to quit from the Parliamentary Committee of Subordinate legislation.
“Parliamentary issues cannot be discussed here like this. The committees will do their work as per rules and regulations and they will submit the report to Parliament, and Parliament will take a view. From outside, I do not want to say anything.”
“As per the rules of Parliament, anybody who has got a conflict of interest is supposed to declare it. And then the Committee and the Parliament takes care of it,” he told reporters at an event here. The Government had drawn flak from various quarters after it kept in abeyance its proposed notification to be implemented from April 1 to increase the size of pictorial warnings on all tobacco products from the current 40 per cent to 85 per cent.
The decision was taken following recommendations from the parliamentary panel headed by BJP MP Dilip Gandhi, who stoked the controversy recently saying there was no Indian study to show the link between tobacco use and cancer and asked the Government to stall the new pictorial warning rules.
The NDA Government has maintained that it will take a “measured and responsible” decision on the issue, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley making it clear that the decision of the Government in the matter will not be based on the opinions of individuals.
“Harsh Vardhan’s anti-tobacco activism is responsible for his removal,” Congress’ Communication Department in-charge Randeep Surjewala said in a statement.