Viral Facebook posts are circulating with headlines such as “Mahua Moitra caught red-handed smoking an e-cigarette in Parliament”. These posts allege that TMC MP Mahua Moitra was smoking an e-cigarette inside the Lok Sabha chamber during the Winter Session of Parliament on December 11, 2025.
Here is one such post:
However, on closer inspection we found that BJP MP Anurag Thakur only alleged that an unnamed TMC MP was involved and did not name Mahua Moitra.
Fact Check
At first we ran a keyword search to check what BJP MP Anurag Thakur had actually said in the Parliament. We came across news reports that said that on December 11, 2025, Anurag Thakur had, in the Lok Sabha, accused an unnamed TMC MP of using an e-cigarette inside the parliamentary chamber during the session. In his communication to the Speaker, Thakur alleged that the use of an electronic cigarette in the House violated parliamentary rules and statutory laws, and he urged action on this breach of decorum. However, he did not name any MP in his complaint.
Following this, we checked the attendance log of the parliament where we noticed that MP Mahua Moitra wasn’t present on December 11 and 12, 2025.
We then checked Mahua Moitra’s official Social Media handles to check if there is any rebuttal or clarification. We came across a post that shows her alongside other TMC leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, attending an Event in Nadia District West Bengal on December 11, 2025.
The event was on the day BJP MP Anurag Thakur made the accusation in the parliament. We also came across news reports verifying her presence in the events.
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We also came across news reports that stated The individual behind the X account whose posts significantly amplified the false claim about Mahua Moitra smoking an e-cigarette in Parliament, was arrested in West Bengal. Authorities reportedly took action on charges related to circulating misleading content and public mischief, according to news reports.
While searching for more information on the incident that led to the controversy we also came across news reports published on December 12, 2025 that shows a video of TMC MP Saugata Roy smoking outside the Parliament complex. Roy later dismissed the uproar as exaggerated
Conclusion
Therefore, the claim that Mahua Moitra was smoking an e-cigarette in Parliament is false and unsubstantiated. The viral posts conflate a general allegation made against an unnamed TMC MP with Moitra’s name without any factual basis.
Title:Viral claim that MP Mahua Moitra was caught smoking an e-cigarette in Parliament is misleading
Fact Check By: Manjori BorkotokyResult:Missing Context
