New Delhi: Suspended from Parliament, opposition leaders on Tuesday staged protests on the stairs of the building with Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee breaking into an impromptu skit mocking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Rahul Gandhi making a video of the performance, sparking a political controversy.
The targeting of the vice president drew sharp reactions from the BJP as the Rajya Sabha chairman himself termed the opposition actions as "shameful" and "insult" of his background as a farmer and "position as a Jat".
"Imagine what must be going through my heart when your senior leader videographs a Member of Parliament mocking the institution of the chairman... Don't take on my background as a farmer," Dhankhar said in Rajya Sabha, addressing senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.
The institution of the chairman, he added, has been ravaged and that too by a political party that has ruled for so long.
"A member of Parliament videographing another one, for what. I had suffered, I tell you, on Instagram, Mr Chidambaram (who was present in the House), your party put a video that was withdrawn later on that was shame to me. You used Twitter, the official handle of the spokesperson to demean me, insult me, insult my background as a farmer, insult my position as a Jat, insult my position as chairman," Dhankhar said.
Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi termed this as a mockery of democracy and the constitutional institutions.
In a post on X, he said, "The I.N.D.I alliance reaches a new low as suspended TMC MP mimics a constitutional position, and the so-called messiah of democratic values, @RahulGandhi, stands there laughing at it. They are a disgrace to democracy, to the people they represent, and to the nation."
The BJP also termed Banerjee's conduct as condemnable.
"This is an example of how the opposition is sabotaging parliamentary democracy. TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee is mocking the Vice President in the Parliament premises, and Rahul Gandhi is recording the video; nothing can be more unfortunate than this," Rakesh Sinha, BJP Rajya Sabha member said.
Opposition members, who were suspended from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, had gathered on the stairs of Parliament on Tuesday morning raising slogans against the government and waving placards demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah in the House on the security breach in Parliament.
Suddenly, Banerjee stood up and started mocking the Vice President by mimicking the way he walked and conducted the proceedings in Rajya Sabha.
Leaning forward with a bent back, Banerjee called out Rahul Gandhi who was standing with the opposition members and made certain remarks about having a spine.
The opposition members cheered Banerjee and Gandhi soon started making a video of Trinamool leader's performance mocking the vice president. Some opposition members also mimicked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's style of conducting House proceedings.
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.
"The opposition actions are condemnable. They are venting the frustration of their defeat in the assembly elections in Parliament and have shown utter disregard to the institution of Parliament," BJP Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Sharma said.
BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said those pretending to unite India are supporting those who want to divide the country. "Their main agenda is to break India and not unite India. The people of the country will break the arrogance of the arrogant coalition in 2024," Patra said.
A total of 141 members of Parliament have been suspended from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for waving placards and raising slogans in the House.
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