India
Mimicry Row: President Murmu dismayed over Dhankhar's humiliation in Parliament complex
President Droupadi Murmu said the elected representatives must be free to express themselves, but their expression should be within the 'norms of dignity and courtesy'
FP Staff December 20, 2023 14:39:38 IST 
President of India Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar. X.
The controversy over the mimicry incident outside the Parliament is gaining steam. Amid this, President Droupadi Murmu expressed her dismay at the manner in which Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was “humiliated” in the Parliament complex.
The President further said the elected representatives must be free to express themselves, but their expression should be within the “norms of dignity and courtesy.”
President Murmu’s condemnation comes a day after Trinamool Congress MP from Serampore Kalyan Banerjee mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest outside the Parliament against the suspension of 141 opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).
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“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,” the President posted on her official handle on X, formerly Twitter.
Dhankhar thanked President Murmu for her “kind words and the timely reminder that basic courtesies must always remain.”
“I am committed to upholding Constitutional principles till my last breath. No insults can prevent me from doing so.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Dhankar said he received a phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing deep concern and condemnation over the behaviour of some opposition MPs.
The Vice President said, PM Modi told him, “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.”
Also Read: Mimicry Row: Will not tolerate insult to my post, says Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar
Earlier in the day, Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Dhankhar and expressed his concern over the “serious misdemeanor” by some MPs “demeaning and denigrating” the constitutional office of the Vice President while terming it a “new low”.
On Tuesday, videos from outside the Parliament that went viral showed Rahul Gandhi filming Banerjee mimicking Dhankar as opposition MPs, who were protesting outside Parliament against the mass suspension from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, burst into laughter.
As many as 49 more opposition lawmakers were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday for unruly behaviour, taking the total number of MPs facing action in both Houses of Parliament to 141.
With inputs from agencies