V-P mimicry: President Murmu and PM Modi criticise incident; Congress calls it a diversionary tactic

“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 post said.

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

“Thank you Rashtrapati Ji for your kind words and the timely reminder that basic courtesies must always remain,” the Vice-President said, adding that he is “committed to upholding Constitutional principles till my last breath”, and no insults can prevent him from doing so.

Meanwhile, PM Modi also expressed great pain at the “abject theatrics” of some of the MPs.

“Received a telephone call from the Prime Minister, @narendramodi Ji. He expressed great pain over the abject theatrics of some Honourable MPs and that too in the sacred Parliament complex yesterday,” the Vice President’s Secretariat 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

“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 and that too in Parliament was unfortunate,” Dhankhar posted on X.

However, he added that this won’t prevent him from performing his duty. “I told him-Mr. Prime Minister, the antics of a few won’t prevent me from performing my duty and upholding the principles enshrined in our Constitution. I am committed to those values from the bottom of my heart. None of the insults will make me change my path,” he said.

In a video clip, Banerjee, surrounded by other Opposition leaders, can ostensibly be seen impersonating the Rajya Sabha Chairperson and saying: “My spine is so straight, I’m so tall,” which also featured Gandhi appearing to record the TMC MP.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, Dhankhar said, “Office of Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Office of Speaker are very different. Political parties will have their cross currents, they will have exchanges, but imagine a senior leader of your party videographing another member of another party… Mimicry of the Chairman, mimicry of Speaker. How ridiculous, how shameful, how unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, the Congress party called it “a desperate attempt” to divert attention from the suspensions of Opposition MPs.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday, “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?” he added, posting a video of PM Modi mimicking Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha earlier.

Dhankhar’s remarks came against the backdrop of protests by the Opposition, demanding a discussion on the December 13 Parliament security breach.