Dismayed to see Vice President humiliated: President Murmu over mimicry of Dhankar

New Delhi: The mimicry of vice-president and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar by TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee took political centerstage on Wednesday, with the issue playing out both inside and outside Parliament and President Droupadi Murmu joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay. The Congress accused the "entire Modi ecosystem" of being galvanised on the "so-called mimicry non-issue".

Ms Murmu said that she was dismayed at the manner in which the vice-president was "humiliated" in the Parliament complex. She said the elected representatives were free to express themselves, but it should be within the norms of dignity and courtesy.

"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 said in a post on X.

Responding to the President's post, the Rajya Sabha Chairperson said he is committed to upholding constitutional principles till his last breath and insults cannot prevent him from doing so. He thanked the President for her kind words and the timely reminder that basic courtesies must always remain.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister called Mr Dhankhar and expressed "great pain" over the "abject theatrics" of some MPs in the Parliament complex.

"He (the Prime Minister) 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 and that too in Parliament was unfortunate,” Mr Dhankhar was quoted as saying on X.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also expressed deep concern over the mimicry incident.

When the Upper House met at 11.45 am after the third adjournment, Mr Dhankhar expressed his anguish over Tuesday's incident and asked the Congress party, including Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, to ponder over it.

"I am not bothered if anyone insults Jagdeep Dhankhar, but I cannot bear that I could not protect the honour of my post. It is my duty to protect the honour of the House," Mr Dhankhar said.

"You cannot imagine what has happened. Such a big incident took place. The post was disrespected. The farmers' community was insulted. My community was insulted and you are silent," he said before adjourning the House proceedings again for about 15 minutes.

Ruling party members participated in the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha while remaining standing to express solidarity with Mr Dhankhar. The treasury benches participated in the Question Hour proceedings while standing for about 10 minutes.

Later in the evening, several Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, and BJP MPs called on Mr Dhankhar in his chamber at Parliament House.

Reacting to Mr Dhankhar's remarks, the Congress president said caste should not be dragged into every issue and wondered if he should rake up his Dalit origins every time he is not allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha.

The Chairperson's job is to give protection to other members, but he himself is making such a statement, he added.

"I am not allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit? They should not incite people outside in the name of caste by talking about it inside.”

Mr Kharge also asked if the government should also not apologise for the Prime Minister and Union home minister Amit Shah not speaking on the issue of Parliament's security breach in the two Houses but referring to them outside.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The entire Modi ecosystem is now being galvanised on the so-called mimicry non-issue, while it remains silent on the real issue of why and how a BJP MP from Mysuru facilitated entry of two intruders into Lok Sabha on December 13...”

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sought to play down the issue, saying it was not meant to be disrespectful.

"We respect everyone. It was not disrespectful. It was just politically, casually... You would not even have known it if Rahul ji had not recorded it," she said.

Ms Banerjee was in the Parliament complex on Wednesday to meet the Prime Minister over pending central funds for her state.

In the eye of the storm over the mimicry row, TMC MP said that he never had any intention to hurt or disrespect Mr Dhankhar but did not offer any apology.

"Mimicry is not an offence, they (the BJP) are trying to change the main issue, which is whether suspension of the Opposition MPs was right?" the TMC MP said and claimed that even Mr Modi has done it in the past.

"Did not have any intention at all to hurt anyone, including the Vice President. Have respect for constitutional positions," he said.

With 141 Opposition MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for disrupting proceedings, many of them held a protest at Parliament's main entrance for lawmakers on Tuesday.

During the protest, Mr Banerjee mimicked Mr Dhankhar's mannerisms amid cheers from his colleagues. Mr Gandhi was seen recording a video of the act with his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court lawyer Vineet Jindal has filed a complaint before the ethics committee of both Houses of Parliament against the TMC MP and has sought expulsion of Mr Banerjee and Mr Gandhi.

In his complaint, Mr Jindal claimed that this event falls under the extreme case of misconduct by the members of the House upon which the ethics committee should take action.