During an opposition rally in the parliament on Tuesday, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP impersonate Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. This playful behaviour attracted chuckles from fellow members, with several, including Rahul Gandhi, photographing the event on their phones. Dhankhar acknowledged the incident and called it “ridiculous and unacceptable” when the House reconvened at midday following an adjournment.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar spoke to senior Congress MP P Chidambaram, a former home minister, in the Rajya Sabha. “Chidambaram, you are a very senior member. Imagine what I felt when a senior leader of your party, an MP, was filming an act making fun of me, a personal attack,” he said.
“This is not just the insult of a farmer or a community, it’s disrespect to the post of Rajya Sabha chairman. And that too by a party that ruled the country for so long. I am very pained,” he added.
#WATCH | “Ridiculous, unacceptable”, says Jagdeep Dhankhar after TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimics Rajya Sabha Chairman and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi films the act. pic.twitter.com/F3rftvDmhJ
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2023
Slamming Congress for the mimicry of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said: “They were enjoying while making the video. Look at their intention, they were insulting the Jat community, farmers, OBC community and the Vice President. They think that only they have the right to sit on that chair and how can a person from the Jat community or a farmer’s son sit on that Chair. We condemn this act.”
#WATCH | Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says, “They were enjoying while making the video. Look at their intention, they were insulting the Jat community, farmers, OBC community and the Vice President. They think that only they have the right to sit on that chair and how can a… pic.twitter.com/Kfpp04MJ8F
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2023
The Jat Association, a community-based organisation, turned to social media to condemn “Congress elements” for impersonating Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Taking to X, Jat Association stated: “Vice President and the pride of the Jat community, Jagdeep Dhankhar has been mocked. The Jat community will definitely take account of this mockery in the coming Lok Sabha elections.”
कोंग्रेसी तत्वों द्वारा ॥
देश के उपराष्ट्रपति ॥ और जाट समाज के गौरव ॥
जगदीप दनख़ड साहब की खिल्ली उड़ाईं गई है ॥
इस खिल्ली का हिसाब जाट समाज आने वाले लोकसभा चुनावों में ज़रूर लेगा ॥
धन्यवाद ॥
सूचना जाट हित में जारी ॥
— THE JAT ASSOCIATION (@Jatassociation) December 19, 2023
Kalyan Banerjee, a member of the Trinamool Congress, was seen in the video shouting and gesticulating animatedly as he mimicked the Vice President on the steps outside the “Makar Dwar” of the new Parliament building. He was heard saying, “My spine is so straight, I’m so tall,” as he portrayed the House proceedings in an impromptu skit. All Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs watching him burst into laughter, while Congress MP Rahul Gandhi filmed the ‘performance’.
