Suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicks VP Dhankhar at on the stairs of the Parliament during a protest as Rahul Gandhi films it.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee's mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in the presence of other opposition MPs including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi inside the Parliament premise has snowballed into a major controversy on Tuesday with Dhankhar taking a strong objection to the act while Parliamentary Affairs minister Prahlad Joshi demanding an apology from Congress and TMC on the floor of the House.
Opposition members, suspended from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, gathered on the staircase outside the new Parliament building and protested against the government. Suddenly TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee stood up and did an impromptu skit mimicking the way the Vice President walked and conducted the proceedings at the Upper House.
While several opposition leaders laughed and cheered at Banerjee’s performance, Rahul Gandhi was seen among those who took videos of the act.
This angered Dhankar, who said he was hurt and felt insulted. He also referred to a social media post that the Congress party made on him. BJP also came down heavily on Banerjee as well as the Congress leader.
“Imagine what must be going through my heart when your senior leader videographs a Member of Parliament mocking the Institution of Chairman, as an individual takes on me,” Dhankhar said in the Upper House addressing senior Congress leader P Chidambaram who was present in the House.
“Don't take on my background as a farmer, don't take on my background as a community member. The institution of Chairman has been ravaged and that too by a political party that has gone far so long that a Member of Parliament, a senior one, videographs the other member. For what?” an angry Dhakhar said in the Rajya Sabha.
“On Instagram, Mr Chidambram, your party put a video which was withdrawn later. That was a shame to me. You used 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,” he said.
Joshi demanded an apology from Congress and TMC observing that they tried to belittle the office of the Vice President.
As the video of Banerjee's performance went viral on social media, the BJP slammed the opposition for insulting the institution of Parliament by mimicking the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman.
"I.N.D.I.A bloc parties have been like touring talkies, holding their meetings in different cities. Now this drama company has started mimicry by making fun of a person who is from OBC (Other Backward Classes) and farming background. Rahul Gandhi has no sense, let alone any good sense. Kharge ji should apologise," Joshi told reporters.
More than 140 opposition members have been suspended by the Chairs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after they protested in the House seeking a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on last week’s Parliament security breach.