RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Credit: Sansad TV screengrab
New Delhi: A day after his mimicry by a Trinamool Congress MP triggered a major political row, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said it would not have mattered had he been mocked as an individual, but he won’t tolerate such slights targeted to the office he holds and the community he belongs to.
Dhankhar, who chairs the Rajya Sabha, wondered about the 'sanskar' (values) of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was seen videographing the mimicry by TMC lawmaker Kalyan Banerjee.
Addressing senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar questioned the "silence" of top Congress leaders on the episode. "You say your party is 138-years old. Your silence is ringing in my ears. (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge ji's silence is ringing in my ears. Everyone knows what is happening," he remarked.
The Vice President said he would not have raised the issue if the mimicry only targeted him as an individual.
“But I will not tolerate any attempt to undermine the prestige of the office of the Vice President. A person derives fun by videographing it, amplifying it... is this the 'sanskar' (values)?” he said.
Dhankhar made the comments amidst sloganeering by BJP members who stood for an hour in the Upper House to express solidarity with him. Dhankhar said he received a phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who voiced his "pain" on the episode.
On Tuesday, Banerjee – one of the suspended MPs – was sitting on the Parliament staircase outside the Makar Dwar protesting against the government when he performed an impromptu skit mimicking the way Dhankhar walks and conducts the House proceedings, drawing cheers from fellow Opposition Parliamentarians.
But his mimicry drew sharp criticisms not only from Dhankhar but also from the ruling party. They charged the Congress and other opposition parties not only with lowering the dignity of the office of the Vice President but also with targeting the farmers and the Jat community.
The Vice President expressed that he was "deeply pained" by the episode, considering it an insult to his farmer family background and the Jat community he comes from. Several Jat outfits have protested, arguing that such an act amounts to insulting the community.