TMC MP appears to mimic Dhankhar during Parliament protest sparks row
Dhankhar described it as a personal attack on him, and said the “institution of Chairman has been ravaged”
New Delhi Video clips of suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee ostensibly mimicking the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, on the steps of the new Parliament building were aired on television and circulated on social media platforms on Tuesday, prompting Dhankhar to sternly criticise the act.
Read here: 'Why MP recorded...': Jagdeep Dhankhar slams Rahul Gandhi, Congress over video row
In the clips, Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP from Serampore, was seen surrounded by several other suspended parliamentarians, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen making a video as he conducted a mock sitting of the House.
Hours later, taking strong umbrage, Dhankhar described it as a personal attack on him, and said the “institution of Chairman has been ravaged”.
When Rajya Sabha resumed at 2pm after an adjournment, a visibly upset Dhankhar said the “response against this institution” had touched a new low. Referring to Rahul Gandhi, though he did not take names, he told senior Congress leader P Chidambaram: “You are a very senior member. Imagine what must be going through my heart when your senior leader videographs a member of Parliament mocking the institution of Chairman... I had suffered... Mr Chidambaram, your party put a video on Instagram, which was withdrawn later on. That was a shame to me. You used the official twitter handle of the spokesperson to demean me, insult me, insult my background as a farmer, my position as a Jat, insult my position as a Chairman...these are too serious issues.”
On his part, Banerjee denied he was targeting anyone, saying he was unaware of anyone’s mannerisms.
But the government lashed out at the Opposition for “disrespecting” the office of the Chairman, who is also the Vice President of India.
“A great, unfortunate drama unfolded on Parliament’s premises,” Union minister of parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi said. Seeking an apology from both the TMC and the Congress, he added: “The Congress and INDIA alliance should apologise to the Chair for the mimicry. It shows their attitude...they are against farmers, tribals, Jats and OBCs. They tried to belittle the Vice President’s image. It is highly condemnable.”
The minister also accused the Congress of deliberately insulting the President, who is from the tribal community, from day one.
Later, speaking outside Parliament, Joshi said: “I condemn the drama and mimicry of the Vice President that Kalyan Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi and his friends did. INDI Alliance is anyway a touring party, they do drama in different cities. But now they have started mimicry in the drama talkies...Look at their attitude even before this - they made wrong comments about the first tribal woman President.”
With 49 more Opposition members suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the total count has hit 141 -- 46 in the Rajya Sabha and 95 in the Lok Sabha -- over their demand for a reply from the home minister, and a discussion, on the security breach in Parliament on December 13.
On Tuesday, suspended MPs of all the parties had gathered to protest on the steps leading to the new Parliament building when the incident surrounding Banerjee occurred.
To be sure, this is not the first instance of members holding a mock Parliament to register their protest. In 2010, some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including the late Gopinath Munde, who was then the deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, were reprimanded by the party high command for joining Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh in a mock Parliament session.
At that time, the SP and the RJD were protesting against the Cabinet’s decision on MPs’ salaries, and the BJP was opposed to how the Medical Council of India (MCI) Bill was passed without a discussion.
