BJP leaders protest over Dhankhar mimicry row; demand apology from Kalyan Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi
Dec 21, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 21 : Amid the controversy triggered after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee was seen mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filming the same, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Thursday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar against the opposition MPs and demanded an apology from them.
During the protest, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari came down heavily on the opposition over the insult to the Vice President of India. "This was an insult to farmers, his (Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar) community, and those sitting in Constitutional posts. Rahul Gandhi, Congress, and their alliance will have to bear its brunt," Tiwari said.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded TMC to take action against Kalyan Banerjee.
"Rahul Gandhi and one of Mamata Banerjee's MPs have insulted India's Vice President and the son of a farmer. This is an insult to all the farmers of the country...Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the country and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Mamata Banerjee should expel Kalyan Banerjee from the party. Until this happens, farmers, workers, and the poor across the country will burn their effigies on the streets," he said.
"Opposition has insulted democracy, this was not mimicry but mockery. This was an insult to a son of the Jat community, an insult to the son of a farmer, an insult to the Vice President. How will the workers of BJP not be distressed?...We are protesting against their objectionable conduct," BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said.
Meanwhile, a Khap Panchayat meeting was called in Jhajjar over the mimicry row.
"Kalyan Banerjee mocked him (Vice President & Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar) and the farmers of the country," a Khap leader said during the meeting.
"A leader of an old party was shooting the video...Until both of them apologize to the country, the Khap Panchayat will continue," he added.
Notably, Kalyan Banerjee, during the protest with other suspended MPs at Parliament's Makar Dwar, was seen mimicking the Vice President while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen filming the Trinamool MP using his phone.
