Opposition holds protest against suspension of MPs from Parliament

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Thursday found fault with Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for invoking his caste following a Trinamool Congress MP mimicking him during a protest two days ago.

Kharge said Dhankhar has brought casteism to Parliament by calling Kalyan Banerjee's "mimicry" an insult to his caste 'Jat' while Pawar asked whether it was right for him to invoke Maratha pride if someone says something against him.

Their comments came as Opposition MPs marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk demanding a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on Parliament security breach and suspension of 143 MPs who sought his remarks.

"I am sorry to say that the Rajya Sabha Chairman has in a way brought casteism to Parliament by raising an issue," Kharge told reporters after the march. Dhankhar had said in Rajya Sabha that Banerjee's mimicry and Rahul Gandhi shooting it on his video was an "insult to Jats and farmers" as he is the son of a farmer.

Pawar, who along with Kharge and others marched to Vijay Chowk, said, "If someone does something outside the Parliament, escalating it till here, if someone says something against me and I say that it is an insult to Marathas and farmers. I will never say that."

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan also took on Dhankhar and said when Jat farmers were sitting in Ghazipur, the BJP was asking police to use their batons. "Neither farmers nor Jats were insulted at that time? When women wrestlers -- belonging to Jat families -- who were sexually harassed were sitting at the Jantar Mantar, Jats were not insulted? When Meira Kumar was the Speaker, her mimicry was going on on channels. She did not say that was an insult to Dalits. BJP has displayed petty politics to hide their own weaknesses and the security breach. This is a blot on our history."

Kharge said the Prime Minister and Home Minister are insulting Parliament by avoiding to speak in the House. The Prime Minister is speaking everywhere else, including Varanasi but not in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and this is a breach of privilege issue, he said while Pawar said, "There was just one demand, a statement from the Government side on how they came and who issued them passes."

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the the "Modi ec(h)o system is completely silent on Manipur, over 700 deaths during farmers' agitation, violence on women wrestlers by Delhi police and sexual harassment of wrestlers by a BJP MP, role of a BJP MP who facilitated entry of the intruders into Lok Sabha on December 13, demand for the conduct of a Caste Census to ensure social justice and adequate share in the social, economic and political structures of the country."

"But suddenly Modi ec(h)o system gets hyper-vocal talking about farmers and caste. This is nothing but the famed Modi 3D vision at work: Distortion, Diversion and Distraction," he posted on X.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the moment has come to start writing the obituary of Parliamentary democracy in India while NCP MP Supriya Sule said it appeared there is an Emergency in the country.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said, "Parliamentary democracy is not there. This is the Opposition-mukt Parliament. It is almost like a monarchy. They should now amend the Constitution to say that India is a monarchy."