On 20th December, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu expressed displeasure at the Members of Parliament from the opposition parties for mocking and humiliating Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, “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.”
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
Earlier, VP Dhankhar said in a post on X that he received a call from the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who expressed great pain over the way MPs behaved in the Parliament complex. He wrote, “Received a telephone call from the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi 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 years and counting but the fact that it could happen to a Constitutional office like the Vice President of India and that too in the Parliament was unfortunate. 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.”
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
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla meets Vice President
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla met the Vice President today over the incident. Sharing a video of their meeting on X, Speaker Birla wrote, “Conveyed my deep concerns and anguish to the Vice President and Hon’ble Chairman, Rajyasabha about serious misdemeanor by Hon’ble MPs in Parliament complex demeaning and denigrating the constitutional office of Vice President.”
Conveyed my deep concerns and anguish @VPIndia and Hon'ble Chairman, Rajyasabha about serious misdemeanor by Hon'ble MPs in Parliament complex demeaning and denigrating the constitutional office of Vice President. pic.twitter.com/LJY0SSUDb9
— Om Birla (@ombirlakota) December 20, 2023
MPs mocked VP Dhankhar in Parliament complex
On 19th December, Shameful scenes emerged from the Parliament premises as Opposition members of Parliament (MPs) were seen mocking Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee was seen mimicking and mocking the Vice President at the Parliament premises while other Opposition MPs accompanying him laughed. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was seen videographing the incident with a wide smile.
#WATCH | TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimics Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in Parliament premises pic.twitter.com/naabLIzibY
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2023
The cheap act was performed while Opposition MPs were staging protests against the suspension of at least 140 MPs from both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha since Monday (18th December).
VP reacted to the visuals of the TMC leader mocking him
Jagdeep Dhankhar has called the act “shameful”. He said, “Imagine a senior leader of your party (Congress) videographing another member of another party, mimicry of the Chairman, mimicry of the Speaker, how ridiculous, how shameful, how unacceptable.”
Vice President Dhankhar expresses pain and anguish over viral video showing him bowing to PM Modi.
— India Knowledge Network (@IndiaKnowledge3) December 8, 2023
#VicePresident #Dhankhar #Modi #Congress #RajyaSabha #India #Politics #News #Viral #PoliticalEtiquette #Humility #Dignity #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/tXrOO4foqm
Notably, over 110 MPs have been suspended from the Parliament for the remaining Winter Session following unruly behavior and misconduct in the Houses.