I picked up a call, it started playing…: BJP MLA on ‘obscene video’ controversy

Jadab Lal Nath, the MLA of Bagbassa constituency in North Tripura district, claimed that obscene videos appeared on his phone when he received a call. However, he acknowledged that using mobile phones is not allowed in the House and stated that he closed the video as soon as he realized its content.

“I know well that using mobile phones is prohibited in the House. As repeated calls were coming, I picked up a call, and then obscene videos started appearing on my phone. Anyways, I then closed it,” he told PTI.

He said he has spoken to state BJP president Rajib Bhattacharya on the matter who told him to “wait”.

The Congress party expressed their disappointment with the incident and demanded that Nath be punished for his behavior. The Leader of the Opposition also called for action to be taken against Nath. 

“This incident has tarnished the image of all MLAs. This man should be appropriately punished. Use of mobile phones is completely prohibited in the assembly, how could he watch pornography?” state Congress president Birajit Sinha said.

Leader of opposition Animesh Debbarma also demanded action against Nath.

However, the speaker of the assembly, Biswabandhu Sen, stated that he had not received any complaint about the incident and could not take action based on social media posts.

“I have not received any complaint. I cannot take action on the basis of a social media post. If any complaint is lodged, I will initiate an investigation and take appropriate action,” he said.

This is not the first time that politicians have been caught watching pornographic content in the assembly. In 2012, three BJP ministers in Karnataka were allegedly caught watching pornographic videos during assembly proceedings.

(With inputs from agencies)