Following the mimicry incident outside the Parliament, where suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee imitated Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Advocate and Social Activist Vineet Jindal filed a complaint with the Ethics Committees of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Jindal’s complaint seeks the expulsion of the suspended TMC MP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and other involved MPs.
Banerjee’s mimicry of Vice President Dhankhar occurred during the opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP. In his complaint, Jindal asserted that this event constitutes extreme misconduct by members of the house, warranting action from the Ethics Committee.
“This is a complaint against TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi MP (leader of Congress), and other MPs for making defamatory remarks, mocking, and mimicking the style of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar while presiding over the house,” Jindal stated in his complaint.
“A video went viral on Twitter and other social networking sites in which TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee could be seen mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, followed by hooting, mocking, and cheering by other members of Parliament of the Opposition party. One of the senior leaders of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is making the video of this shameful mockery. Such actions and behavior by the opposition party leaders are highly derogatory and offensive to the dignity of the House and its members and are inconsistent with the standards which the House expects from its members,” he added.
Activist Jindal emphasized that such misconduct is a dishonor and disregard of the rules of conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette. “It is a matter of great shame that the members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have been so disrespectful and loud-mouthed to a person who holds one of the highest positions in the Indian Parliament and Vice President of India. It is a disgrace that these opposition leaders have failed to abide by the principles of conduct laid by the Ethics Committee,” he said.
“As per the Rules of Conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette, the House has the right to punish its members for their misconduct in the House or outside. In an extreme case of misconduct, if the conduct of members/members of the house is found to be derogatory to the dignity of the house and its members and inconsistent with the standards the House expects from its members, then the House may expel a member,” Jindal added.
He noted that these members have a history of such behavior, with some having already been suspended for inappropriate conduct and disruption in parliamentary proceedings. “This is not the first time that these members have been found indulging in acts of misconduct; a few of them have already been suspended for their inappropriate behavior and disruption in the parliamentary proceedings in both houses, which shows that these members have become habitual offenders and do not give any heed to the punishment of suspension from the houses,” he said.
“Therefore, the present matter is grave in nature as the acts of the suspended and some other members are intentionally to lower the dignity of the constitutional post of the Vice president of India and the chairman of Rajya Sabha. This event comes under the extreme case of misconduct by the members of the house upon which the Ethics Committee should take action against this misconduct, potentially including expulsion of the members involved,” Jindal added in his complaint.
“By the present complaint, I am requesting the ethics committee of both the Houses to take action against the members of Parliament involved in the present case and seek their expulsion from the Houses,” the complaint read further.
Earlier, under fire from the members in the Treasury and the BJP-led Centre over his mock impersonation of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on the Parliament complex, suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Wednesday clarified his conduct saying he wasn’t intending to hurt anyone. “I have never had any intention to hurt anyone…Does he really behave like this in Rajya Sabha? Mimicry was done by the PM in Lok Sabha between 2014-2019…” Kalyan Banerjee said.
