New Delhi: The controversy over a TMC MP mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took political centrestage on Wednesday with the issue playing out inside and outside Parliament and President Droupadi Murmu joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay.
As Dhankhar, also the Rajya Sabha chairperson, said in the House that he would not tolerate any insult to Parliament or the post of vice president, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said he did not intend to hurt anyone with his act in the Parliament complex on Tuesday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed her party colleague, and the Congress slammed what it termed the government’s “desperate attempt” to divert attention from the unprecedented suspension of over 140 MPs by raising the matter.
Expressing their solidarity with Dhankhar, ruling party members, including ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and Nitin Gadkari, participated in Question Hour proceedings in the Rajya Sabha but remained standing for about 10 minutes.
In a rare intervention in an unfolding political debate, President Murmu said on X she was dismayed to see 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 courtesies must always remain.
“I am committed to upholding Constitutional principles till my last breath. No insults can prevent me from doing so,” Dhankhar posted on X.
The Vice President’s Secretariat also put out a post on X.
Received a telephone call from the Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi Ji. He expressed great pain over the abject theatrics of some Honourable MPs and that too in the sacred Parliament complex yesterday, it said.
“He told me that he 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 expressed his anguish in the House too.
In the Rajya Sabha, 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 own community.
“I am not bothered if anyone insults Jagdeep Dhankhar but I cannot bear that I could not protect the honour of my post. It is my duty to protect the honour of the House,” the chairperson said.
On Tuesday, 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.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also met Dhankhar to express his concern.
“Conveyed my deep concerns and anguish @VPIndia and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, about serious misdemeanor by Hon’ble MPs in Parliament complex demeaning and denigrating the constitutional office of Vice President,” Birla posted on X along with a video of him meeting Dhankhar.
“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.
BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh demanded an apology from the opposition INDIA alliance.
With Dhankhar’s mimicry, the opposition members had shown they can even make fun of a person who is sitting on such a high constitutional post.
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.
Kalyan Banerjee echoed her and said he might have differences with Dhankhar over a few issues but meant no disrespect.
“Mimicry is not an offence, they (BJP) are trying to change the main issue which is whether suspension of opposition MPs was right,” the TMC MP said and claimed that even Modi had done so in the past.
“Did not have any intention at all to hurt anyone, including the vice president. Have respect for constitutional positions,” he said on Wednesday.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that a “desperate attempt is being made to divert attention away from the unprecedented suspension of 142 MPs by raising the issue of ‘mimicry’.” He also shared a video clip of Prime Minister Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi had hugged him in 2018.
“Remember who mimicked whom and that too in the Lok Sabha?” Ramesh asked.
Congress president and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge took offence 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.
PTI

Press Trust of India