Mallikarjun Kharge said caste should not be dragged into it and wondered if he should rake up his Dalit origins if he is not allowed to speak.
Published Dec 20, 2023 | 3:15 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 3:15 PM
Opposition MPs protesting in the Parliament complex. (X)
The Congress, on Wednesday, 20 December, said that the “entire Modi ecosystem” is now being galvanised on the “so-called mimicry non-issue”, while it remains silent on how a BJP MP “facilitated the entry of two intruders” into the Lok Sabha and on the suspension of over 141 MPs from both Houses.
The Opposition party hit back at the BJP for its criticism of a TMC leader’s mimicry of Rajya Sabha Chairman and India’s Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, saying a “desperate attempt” is being made to divert attention from the unprecedented suspension of MPs by raising this issue.
The Congress’ attack came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Vice-President Dhankhar and expressed great pain over the “abject theatrics” of some MPs in the Parliament complex, the Vice President’s office said.
Referring to the mimicry issue, President Droupadi Murmu also said she was dismayed at the manner in which Vice-President Dhankhar was “humiliated” in the Parliament complex.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that 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 Rajya Sabha, amid a row over the mimicry of Dhankhar.
Dhankhar has flayed the mimicry, calling it an insult to his background as a farmer and “Jat” (his caste). The ruling BJP has echoed a similar view.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said the Chairperson’s job is to give protection to other members but he himself is making such a statement.
“I am not allowed to speak in Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit,” he added.
सभापति जी का काम सदन के अंदर सांसदों को सुरक्षा देना है।
सदन में जात-पात की बात करके लोगों को बाहर भड़काने का काम नहीं करना चाहिए।
मुझे भी सदन में बोलने नहीं दिया जाता है, तो क्या मैं भी यह कहूं कि मुझे दलित होने के कारण बोलने नहीं दिया जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/9mnjF6F37U
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 20, 2023
They should not incite people outside in the name of caste by talking about it inside, he said.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that it is a very sad day for the country when people holding constitutional positions talk about their castes.
The government is trying to wash its hands of the issue of Parliament’s security breach by taking up such an issue, he added. Should everyone now move around wearing a label declaring their caste, he asked.
Kharge also asked if the government should also not apologise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 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 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 13th ‘?who are now charged under the anti-terror law UAPA.”
“The entire ecosystem is also silent on the summary suspension of 142 MPs for making a perfectly legitimate demand,” he said.
The entire Modi ecosystem 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 13th — who are now charged under the anti-terror law…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 20, 2023
In another post earlier on X, Ramesh alleged that a desperate attempt is being made to divert attention away from the unprecedented suspension of MPs by raising the issue of “mimicry”.
“Remember who mimicked whom and that too in the Lok Sabha?” Ramesh said and shared a video clip of Prime Minister Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi had hugged him in 2018.
A desperate attempt is being made to divert attention away from the unprecedented suspension of 142 MPs by raising the issue of 'mimicry'. Remember who mimicked whom and that too in the Lok Sabha? pic.twitter.com/Pw4Ii1RQac
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 20, 2023
Slamming the government over the suspension of 141 MPs, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday claimed that a “dubious record” had been created as in no country so many lawmakers had been suspended together and alleged that our entire parliamentary democracy has been “betrayed and reduced to a travesty”.
Speaking with reporters after participating in the Opposition protest over the suspension of MPs, Tharoor, who was himself suspended on Tuesday, said that with the suspension of so many Opposition MPs, the history of parliamentary democracy has been “besmirched” in our country.
There is no example of any parliament in any parliamentary democratic system in the world that has ever suspended so many people at one time.
This is a disgrace and a blot on our democracy.
: Dr. @ShashiTharoor Ji pic.twitter.com/wwf8SdGUKd
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 20, 2023
What has been seen in the country in the last few days is a “travesty of parliamentary democracy”, he said.
“I did a bit of research, never in the entire history of Parliamentary democracy has any Parliament in any country in the world ever suspended or expelled 150 people. That is the dubious record being set in our Parliament this week,” he said.
Everyone understands that the basic principle of parliamentary democracy is the accountability of the council of ministers to Parliament, Tharoor said.
“When Parliament is in session, on anything that happens, the government’s duty is to come to Parliament and discuss it with them before going out,” he said.
“When the Opposition called for a discussion on the security breach and requested that the Home Minister should come and speak to Parliament, as you all know the Home Minister did not come, he was giving statements outside to the media, he was giving press interviews, but he was not prepared to speak inside Parliament. This is why the opposition protested and I must say that the reaction has been disproportionate to the actual offense of protesting,” Tharoor asserted.
The protest was for a very democratic parliamentary reason which is to have the home minister come and initiate a discussion, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.
Tharoor stressed that the Opposition had come to this Winter Session determined to cooperate fully with the functioning of Parliament.
The Opposition wanted to participate in major debates on matters of national importance, he said.
But what has been seen sadly is that the government has no interest in letting the Opposition function responsibly in Parliament, he alleged.
“We have seen when we were in power how important it was to accommodate the Opposition’s interest. If we had been in this position, we would have had the home minister come for 10 minutes, we would have had a discussion for half an hour or 45 minutes, that would have defused the situation. Instead time has been wasted, the history of parliamentary democracy has been besmirched in our country,” he said.
“Today we are leaving this House in the feeling that our entire parliamentary democracy has been betrayed and reduced to a travesty,” Tharoor added.
A political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs’ suspension, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP.
The BJP also attacked the Opposition over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi making a video of the performance by Banerjee.
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 and prompting the INDIA coalition to announce nationwide anti-government protests on Friday.
(With PTI inputs)
