The word ‘Godse’ is no longer unparliamentary except in reference to ‘Nathuram Godse’, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has ruled. Parliament had banned the use of the word in 1956.
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948 in New Delhi. The order lifting the ban was passed on Thursday and has brought much relief to Shiv Sena MP from Nashik Hemant Tukaram Godse who pitched for removal of the word “Godse” from the list of “unparliamentary words“.
In letters to the Presiding officers of both the Houses, he wondered as to how can a Member of Parliament’s surname be considered “unparliamentary.” “It is definitely not my fault that my surname is ‘Godse’ and furthermore, I also cannot and will not change it as it is my ancestral surname,” he had told them.
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The ban casts “undue aspersion on my surname and that of my ancestors too”, he said. The Shiv Sena member found himself in a piquant situation with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman during the winter session stopping one member from using the word “Godse” as it is unparliamentary. — PTI