A huge political row unfolded on Wednesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar during the Opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament on Tuesday against the suspension of MPs. This action drew strong condemnation from President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and members of the ruling BJP.
As Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, declared that he would not tolerate any insult to Parliament or the post of Vice President, the TMC MP at the centre of the storm said that he did not intend to hurt anyone with his actions in the Parliament complex on Tuesday. In contrast, Jat Mahasangh volunteers held a protest march near the Congress headquarters against the “mocking” of Dhankhar.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday suspended two more Opposition MPs for displaying placards in the House. Thomas Chazhikadan of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and A M Ariff of the CPI(M) were suspended for misconduct after a resolution, moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, was adopted by the House. This brings the total number of suspended MPs in the Lok Sabha to 97. So far, 143 Opposition MPs have been suspended from the two Houses of Parliament.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed her party MP, while the Congress criticised what it termed the government’s “desperate attempt” to divert attention from the unprecedented suspension of over 140 MPs by raising the matter.
Attacking Opposition parties over the “mimicry” incident, BJP chief JP Nadda alleged that their elected representatives were acting as “clowns” and took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, suggesting he could apply for a job as a cameraman in the studio of BJP MP Ravi Kishan.
Murmu took to social media expressing her dismay at the manner in which the vice president was humiliated in the Parliament complex. “Elected representatives must be free to express themselves, but their expression should be within the norms of dignity and courtesy. That has been the parliamentary tradition we are proud of, and the people of India expect them to uphold it,” Murmu said.
Responding to the president’s post, the Rajya Sabha chairperson thanked Murmu for her kind words and the timely reminder that basic courtesy must always remain. “I am committed to upholding constitutional principles until my last breath. No insults can prevent me from doing so,” Dhankhar responded to Murmu.
“I received a telephone call from the Prime Minister. He expressed great concern over the abject theatrics of some Honourable MPs, and that too in the sacred Parliament complex on Tuesday,” stated a social media post from the Vice President’s secretariat.
“He (PM) told me that he (Modi) has been at the receiving end of such insults for twenty years and counting, but the fact that it could happen to a Constitutional office like the Vice President and that too in Parliament was unfortunate,” Dhankhar was quoted as saying in the post. He also expressed his anguish in the House. Dhankhar said the act of mimicking him and its videography caused an “insult” to the honour of the post of the vice president, the farmers, and his community.
Congress president and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge took offense at Dhankhar describing the mimicry as an insult to his background as a farmer and ‘Jat’ (his caste).
“I am not allowed to speak in Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit?” he said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also met Dhankhar to express his concern. “It is shocking that one MP chose to amplify this ignoble act by video graphing. This is a new low, and no one believing in democracy will ever appreciate it,” he said.
Expressing his solidarity with his successor, former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu said the offices of the President, Vice President, and Speaker are constitutional offices whose dignity and decorum must never be lowered.
Ruling party members, including ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, and Nitin Gadkari, expressed their solidarity with Dhankhar by participating in Question Hour proceedings in the Rajya Sabha but remaining standing for about 10 minutes.
Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh criticised the prime minister for the criticism over the mimicry issue and alleged that Narendra Modi, while bidding farewell to Hamid Ansari, who was retiring as vice president and chairman of Rajya Sabha after a long 10-year tenure, mocked Ansari, reducing his identity to his religion.
Banerjee mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament against the suspension of the MPs. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen making a video of the act. According to Banerjee, it was done “casually” and not to disrespect the vice president. “We respect everyone,” Banerjee, who was in the Parliament complex to meet the prime minister, said.
