New Delhi: In fresh trouble for embattled AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, Parliamentarians have written to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan urging her to send the singer turned politician to a rehabilitation centre, even as he claimed that he did not breach the security of the parliament by posting a video of the security proceedings in Facebook.
The MPs who put forward the demand include Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra, BJP's Maheish Girri and suspended AAP MP Harinder Singh Khalsa.
Khalsa, who was ousted from the party in October last, had come out to the media, claiming that it was ‘nauseating’ to sit next to a drunk man.
“It is a torture, an atrocity. I sit on seat number 495 and come to Lok Sabha after performing puja-path. And then seat number 496 gives me nausea. Terrible foul alcohol smell makes it difficult for me to breathe,” Khalsa was reported as saying.
The complainants requested the speaker to ensure that Mann was allowed to attend Parliament only after he completed his course at the rehab.
Mann, who was suspended from the current session of Parliament, was also reportedly unrepentant of his activities, despite his video earning him nation-wide condemnation, revealed sources in the Parliamentary committee probing the security breach.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mann was grilled by a committee for nearly one-and-a- half hours during which he maintained that he has not breached security of the high security complex.
"In a way he was not repenting. He asked for more time and said he cannot appear tomorrow. We have asked him on August 3 now," said a panel member.
He also reiterated his demand that the ambit of the panel be extended to summon the Prime Minister for "inviting" ISI personnel to the Pathankot airbase in the aftermath of a terror strike there in January.
Last week, in a five-page letter, Mann had refused to tender an unqualified apology and had demanded that the Prime Minister too be summoned before the committee.
It is learnt that the committee might seek an extension from the speaker as it is highly unlikely that it would be able to submit its report by the deadline on August 3. “We may need more time now," said another member.
