President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said she was dismayed to see how Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was humiliated in the Parliament complex and urged the MPs to express themselves within the norms of dignity and courtesy.
She was reacting to TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of the vice president.
“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 posted on her official social media handle.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee stoked a massive controversy by mimicking Dhankhar during a protest against the suspension of Opposition MPs.
The act enraged Dhankhar who called it an “insult to his Jat farmer background”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also dialed Dhankhar and said he was pained to see the “abject theatrics” of some MPs inside the Parliament complex.
The BJP MPs, in a gesture of solidarity to Dhankhar, stood in Parliament for an hour.
Meanwhile, the TMC MP played down the controversy, saying mimicry is an art and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done it in the Lok Sabha.
“I have great respect for Dhankhar ji. But, I did not want to hurt anyone…and it’s one type of art. Mimicry was done also by the Prime Minister in Lok Sabha during the last term. I can show you the video. But no one took it seriously,” he said.