Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Dhankhar and expressed his concern over the 'serious misdemeanor' by some MPs, while PM Modi called him over it.
Published Dec 20, 2023 | 1:40 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 2:57 PM
LS Speaker Om Birla with Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Dhankhar.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Wednesday, 20 December, said he will not tolerate any insult to Parliament and the post of Vice-President. He also invoked his community while expressing “deep anguish” over TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee purportedly mimicking him in the Parliament complex and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi recording the act.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Chairman said that the act of mimicking him and its videography has caused an “insult” to the honour of the post of Vice-President, the farmers, and his community. Dhankhar belongs to the land-owning influential Jat community.
When the House met at 11:45 am on Wednesday after the third adjournment, Dhankhar expressed his anguish over Tuesday’s incident and asked the Congress party, including Leader of 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,” Dhankhar said. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge retorted by asking if he should invoke his Dalit identity to register protest over not being allowed to speak in the House.
If I am not allowed to speak, should I say it is because I am Dalit: Cong leader Mallikarjun Kharge on mimicry of VP Jagdeep Dhankhar
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 20, 2023
“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.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned thrice.
Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu said, on Wednesday, that she was dismayed at how Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar was “humiliated” in the Parliament complex.
Elected representatives, she said, 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,” Murmu said in a post on X.
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…
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) December 20, 2023
Dhankhar alleged that Prime Minister Modi also reached out to him via a phone call. “He expressed great pain over the abject theatrics of some Honourable MPs and that too in the sacred Parliament complex yesterday. 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,” he said.
Received a telephone call from the Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi Ji. He expressed great pain over the abject theatrics of some Honourable MPs and that too in the sacred Parliament complex yesterday. He told me that he has been at the receiving end of such insults for twenty…
— Vice President of India (@VPIndia) December 20, 2023
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Rajya Sabha Chairperson Dhankhar on Wednesday 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”.
“Conveyed my deep concerns and anguish @VPIndia and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, about serious misdemeanor by Hon’ble MPs in Parliament complex demeaning and denigrating the constitutional office of Vice President,” Birla posted on X along with a video of him meeting Dhankhar.
“It is shocking that one MP chose to amplify this ignoble act by videographing. This is a new low and no one believing in democracy will ever appreciate it,” he said.
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. pic.twitter.com/LJY0SSUDb9
— Om Birla (मोदी का परिवार) (@ombirlakota) December 20, 2023
Ruling party members on Wednesday participated in the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha while remaining standing to express solidarity with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The treasury benches participated in the Question Hour proceedings while standing for about ten minutes.
Among those seen standing were Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi.
The BJP also attacked the Opposition over Rahul Gandhi making a video of the performance by Banerjee.
As soon as the House resumed at noon, Joshi said, “In protest against the action of their party’s former president (Rahul Gandhi) and in your honour and honour of the Constitution, we would participate in the Question Hour while remaining standing in silence. We request for your permission”.
“We strongly condemn how Rahul Gandhi insulted you and your constitutional position. To tarnish a particular community and section of society is not right,” he said.
“As far as I have seen, this is the first time they have fallen to this level and there is no end to this. We strongly condemn this. They have been insulting people at constitutional positions,” Joshi said.
The minister said for 20 years they “insulted” the prime minister because he comes from a poor family and belongs to the OBC background. They kept on “insulting” him even after he became the prime minister, he said.
“Then they insulted the President of India who is a tribal. And now they have insulted the Vice President of India, who is a farmer’s son and hails from the Jat community.
“For the first time a farmer’s son and ‘Jat-putra’ reached this level and they have insulted this post of the vice president of India. I want to make it clear that India will not tolerate the insult of the vice president and India will not tolerate the insult of the Constitution,” he asserted amid slogan-shouting by members of the treasury benches.
The remarks come a day after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the Opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament against the suspension of some Members of Parliament (MPs).
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 PTI inputs)
