Suspended TMC MP mocks Dhankhar at protest, VP says 'shameful'
Suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee allegedly mocked Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during a protest by opposition parties outside the Parliament on Tuesday. During an impromptu skit depicting Dhankhar, Banerjee said, "My spine is so straight, I'm so tall." As protesting MPs laughed, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was seen recording the incident on a smartphone. The vice president has termed the act "shameful." This came after 142 MPs were suspended for protesting against last week's Parliament security breach.
Why does this story matter?
A whopping 142 opposition MPs have been suspended during the Parliament Winter Session so far. The action followed their alleged "unruly conduct" while protesting against the recent security breach and demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement. On December 13, two individuals, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumped into the Lok Sabha's chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouting slogans and setting off smoke canisters. Two other protestors—Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde—staged a similar demonstration outside the Parliament before being arrested.
VP Dhankhar calls mimicry 'ridiculous and unacceptable'
Responding to the mocking incident, Vice President Dhankhar expressed his disapproval, calling it "ridiculous and unacceptable." He criticized Gandhi's involvement, stating, "Office of Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Office of Speaker is very different." He further added, "Political parties will have their cross currents, they will have exchanges, but imagine a senior leader of your party videographing another member of another party (is unacceptable)." "Mimicry of the chairman, mimicry of the speaker. How ridiculous, how shameful, how unacceptable," Dhankhar said.
BJP slams opposition MPs for mocking vice president
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared a video of the incident on its X account, condemning both Banerjee and Gandhi for their disrespectful behavior toward the vice president. "If the country was wondering why opposition MPs were suspended, here is the reason. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mocked the Honourable Vice President, while Rahul Gandhi lustily cheered him on (sic)," it tweeted. Suspended opposition MPs were demanding a statement from Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the security breach.
Watch: Video of TMC MP allegedly mocking Dhankhar
Details on MP suspensions so far
On Tuesday alone, 49 MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha, taking the total number of suspensions to 142—the highest ever in a single session of the Indian Parliament. On Monday, 33 from Lok Sabha and 35 from Rajya Sabha were suspended for the remainder of the session. Moreover, 11 Rajya Sabha members remain suspended until the Privileges Committee submits a report on the matter. Similarly, last week, 13 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha member were suspended.
