Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has expressed his anger over comments made by the MP for Addu Maradhoo Constituency Ibrahim Shareef who labeled the legislative house as a 'drug den'.
Speaking during the debate on the amendment to the decentralization act, MP Shareef said that the Parliament must be a place where MPs can express ideas and discuss the pressing matters in the country.
He further said that the Parliament should not be a place that remains oblivious while the country crumbles around it and right now it is exactly a place like that.
The Speaker then interrupted the MP and asked him to stop this line of speech.
He then gave the MP the chance to speak and MP Shareef went on to say that he was discouraged by the Speaker's words and that the Parliament should not be made a 'drug den'.
MP Shareef further said individuals have come to the Parliament in a clear state of intoxication and confronted others by using harsh language. He said that the Speaker should not allow such happenings and that breathalyzers should be kept at the Parliament.
A breathalyzer or breathalyzer is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or detecting[ viruses or diseases from a breath sample.
The Speaker once again cut off the MP and said that he was using unfounded allegations to tarnish and taint the reputation of the Parliament.
He then asked the MP to cut short his remarks.
Once again the MP proceeded to repeat his comments about drug use in the parliament and said that the Speaker's statement can only be proven if breathalyzers were used in the parliament.
This comes days after MP Shareef accused the MP for Kashidhoo Constituency Abdullah Jabir of speaking at the Parliament while intoxicated. The two MPs had a heated exchange in the Parliament session on Monday.
