Explainers
Mimicry row: Why NDA MPs stood for an hour in Rajya Sabha
NDA MPs stood for an hour in the Rajya Sabha to show solidarity with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Kalyan Banerjee, who mocked the Rajya Sabha chairman outside Parliament on Monday, insisted he has ‘great respect’ for Dhankhar. Meanwhile, PM Modi and President Murmu came to Dhankhar’s defence
FP Explainers December 20, 2023 17:00:57 IST 
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. PTI.
On Wednesday, NDA MPs stood for an hour in the Rajya Sabha.
The MPs registered their protest to show solidarity with Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
This comes a day after TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee was seen mimicking the Vice-President of India while Opposition MPs were protesting outside Parliament.
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Let’s take a closer look at the entire row:
What happened yesterday?
On Tuesday, the Opposition staged a protest outside Parliament against the mass suspension of MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition has been demanding a statement from home minister Amit Shah on the breach of security in Parliament.
TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, among the suspended, was seen mimicking Dhankhar while other MPs including Rahul Gandhi were seen taking videos and laughing.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi condemned the mimicry of the presiding officer in the Rajya Sabha by Banerjee as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Dhankhar then took aim at Rahul and Banerjee – albeit without naming them.
“One of your (Congress) big leader was making video of one of the member unparliamentary behaviour. There should be some limit. A senior member of a party making video of another party member who is doing mimicry of chair. How ridiculous and shameful it is,” Dhankhar said after the House reconvened.
Dhankhar added, “Office of Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Office of Speaker is very different. Political parties will have their cross currents, they will have exchanges, but imagine a senior leader of your party, video graphing another member of another party. Mimicry of the Chairman, mimicry of Speaker. How ridiculous, how shameful, how unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla took aim at Banerjee and Rahul.
“Mocking Parliament, constitutional positions has become their DNA – remember how they said “Modi ki kabr khudegi” & abused his OBC background. From abusing PM post to calling President – Rashtrapatni to now insulting a person who comes from OBC samaj from Rajasthan & has become VP of India,” Poonawalla said.
The BJP slammed the Congress on its X handle.
“If the country was wondering why opposition MPs were suspended, here is the reason… TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mocked Honourable Vice President, while Rahul Gandhi lustily cheered him on. One can imagine how reckless and violative they have been of the House!” the BJP’s official handle wrote on X.
Union minister Piyush Goyal posted, “For the record – Congress supports those who RIDICULE a constitutional position!”
What happened today?
On Wednesday, Joshi said NDA MPs would stand in the House to express their support for Dhankhar.
“We strongly condemn this. There are crossing all limits. They are repeatedly insulting people on constitutional posts. They have been insulting the Prime Minister for 20 years because he comes from a humble background and the OBC community. They insulted the President because she is a tribal woman. You are a farmer’s son. For the first time, someone from the Jat community became Vice-President. They have insulted this post. We are making it clear, we will not tolerate the insult of the Vice-President and the Constitution,” Joshi was quoted as saying by NDTV.
“So, in your honour and to protest against them, we will stand and participate in the question and answer session,” he added.
“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 of India and that too in the Parliament was unfortunate,” Dhankhar wrote on X.
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that she was “dismayed to see the manner in which the respected Vice President was humiliated”.
Taking to her official handle on social media handle X, the president said that the people of India are proud of the country’s Parliamentary tradition and expect them to uphold it.
“I was dismayed to see the manner in which our respected 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 wrote on X.
Dhankhar, meanwhile, thanked Murmu for her “kind words and the timely reminder that basic courtesies must always remain,” as per Hindustan Times.
“I am committed to upholding Constitutional principles till my last breath. No insults can prevent me from doing so.”
On Wednesday Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Dhankhar.
Birla said he conveyed his ‘deep concerns and anguish’ to Dhankhar.
Birla posted on X:
“Conveyed my deep concerns and anguish @VPIndia and Hon’ble Chairman, Rajyasabha about serious misdemeanor by Hon’ble MPs in Parliament complex demeaning and denigrating the constitutional office of Vice President. 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.”
‘Great respect for Dhankhar’
Banerjee, meanwhile, insisted he has great respect for Dhankhar.
“I have great respect for Dhankhar ji. He belongs to my profession. He was our ex-governor. He is our Vice President. I just showcased a type of art. Even the PM did mimicry in the past in Lok Sabha itself. I can show it to you. Everyone has taken it casually, we never took that seriously,” Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, “A desperate attempt is being made to divert attention away from the unprecedented suspension of 142 MPs by raising the issue of ‘mimicry’. Remember who mimicked whom and that too in the Lok Sabha?”
Rahul, meanwhile, denied sharing the clip of Dhankhar he had taken.
“MPs were sitting there, I took their video which remains on my phone. The media continues to show it and is making remarks, Modi ji is making remarks, nobody has said anything,” Rahul was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“Our 150 MPs were thrown out, but there is no discussion in the media on that; no discussion on Adani, Rafael and unemployment,” he added.
Advocate files plaint, Oppn continues protest
Meanwhile, an advocate has filed a complaint against Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee for his mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on the premises of the Parliament complex.
“A complaint was given by advocate Abhishek Gautam at Defence Colony Police station on Tuesday evening. We have forwarded it to the New Delhi district police,” a police officer said.
Gautam in his complaint said the video was made with an “intention to insult and defame the Vice-President of India, his caste as well as his background of farmer and as a lawyer”.
He demanded that an FIR be registered under the appropriate sections of IPC and the IT Act against the TMC MP and others seen in the video.
Members of Parliament of INDIA bloc parties, including those suspended, continued to stage a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises on Wednesday.
Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi joined the protest against the suspension of 141 Opposition MPs.
“They want to suspend everyone and run a dictatorship by removing everyone from the house, this won’t work in a democracy, this is why we will go to the people. We will continue to protest till they don’t revoke the suspension and make a statement in the house and initiate a discussion in the house. I am awaiting a response to my letter from the Vice President,” he said.
Hitting out at the ruling BJP, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, “This is going to be the trend. It’s my way or the highway. If you don’t fall in line, we will throw you out because we have the majority. We control both the Houses. They want to turn the Parliament into a stamping House.”
The Opposition MPs raised the slogans of “save democracy” while protesting against the suspension of 141 MPs for the winter session of Parliament.
The protesters carried placards, reading, “Save Democracy” and “Do not kill Democracy”.
With inputs from agencies
