Union Minister Pralhad Joshi also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was seen filming Banerjee's mimicry of Dhankhar.
Published Dec 19, 2023 | 11:59 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 12:12 AM
Pralhad Joshi chided the Congress for their actions. (Sourced)
The INDIA bloc has a tradition of insulting people who come from backward and humble backgrounds and hold constitutional positions, the BJP claimed on Tuesday, 19 December, slamming the Opposition after TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar during a protest.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was seen filming Banerjee’s skit, and demanded an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
“INDIA bloc parties have been like a touring talkies, holding their meetings in different cities. Now this drama company has started mimicry by making fun of a person who is from OBC (Other Backward Classes) and farming background. Rahul Gandhi has no sense, let alone any good sense. Kharge ji should apologise,” Joshi told reporters.
Joshi and his ministerial colleague Arjun Ram Meghwal said that Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had once insulted President Droupadi Murmu by calling her “rashtrapatni” and added that Opposition members have also derided and insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is from the OBC community and is from a humble background.
Chowdhury had later apologised for his comments.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, at a press conference, that the way Dhankhar has been made fun of shows that INDIA bloc leaders have little regard for the Constitution and parliamentary norms and they stand for confrontation and disruption.
With 141 of Opposition MPs suspended from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for disrupting proceedings, many of them held a protest at Parliament’s main entrance for lawmakers on Tuesday.
During the protest, Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee, suspended from Lok Sabha, mimicked Dhankhar’s mannerism to make a point about his alleged partisanship and was cheered by his colleagues. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also witnessed their mock proceedings briefly.
Gandhi was even convicted by a court for insulting those with Modi surname, the BJP leader said.
Opposition leaders are holding the Parliament hostage and have prioritised their and their parties’ interests over the country’s, Poonawalla alleged and added, “They have a longstanding tradition of insulting those holding constitutional positions.”
Speaking to reporters, he cited a glowing International Monetary Fund report on Indian economy to assert that even global agencies have put their stamp of approval on “Modi’s guarantees” after people’s repeated endorsement of them.
India’s per capita income has doubled under this government while the earning of middle class has grown by four times and the expenditure on social welfare has zoomed from ₹6.6 lakh crore to ₹22.4 lakh crore, Poonawalla said.
The GST and direct tax collections have grown at a record pace, he added.
The Indian economy has grown from fragile five under the Congress-led UPA government to top five under the Modi government, he said.
The recent Assembly polls results have again shown that people have rejected the Opposition’s guarantees of corruption, commission, dynasty, and personal ambitions, and endorsed Modi’s vision and mission to make India developed, he said.
The IMF, on Monday, released its annual Article IV consultation with India, according to which the country, underpinned by prudent macroeconomic policies, is on track to be one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world this year.
In a swipe at the meeting of INDIA bloc, Poonawalla said that its leaders have been fighting with each other and are now trying to unite their parties amid differences in their hearts.
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