New Delhi: Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, who also serves as the Chairman of the Upper House of the Parliament i.e. Rajya Sabha, has been in the news for some time now. Several Opposition MPs were suspended during the Winter Parliament Session and during the protest for the same on the premises of the Parliament Building, TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee did the mimicry of the Vice President, which caused quite a stir. On this Mimicry Row, VP Dhankhar, has now called himself a ‘sufferer’ who isn’t spared despite being the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and holding one of the highest public offices of the country.
The Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar recently interacted with the current batch of Indian Statistical Services (ISS) Probationers at his official residence in Delhi. During the interaction, the Rajya Sabha Chairman called himself a sufferer and said that despite being slighted, he would never deviate from his path and principles, To quote VP Dhankhar, “I am a sufferer. A sufferer knows how to withstand from inside, take all upfront insults with one direction. We are in the service of our Bharat Mata (mother India). You will have to show integrity. You will have to exhibit high ethical standards. There will be pressures and counter pressure.”
“Even (a person) in my position as a constitutional head of Rajya Sabha — I am the Chairman there, I am the Vice-President of this country — people don’t spare me. Should that change my mindset? No. Should this result in a deviation from my path? No. On the path of rightness, we always must proceed,” Dhankhar said during his interaction with ISS probationers at his Delhi residence.
Banerjee’s crude impression of the Vice President stoked a major political showdown, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialing the Rajya Sabha Chairman to express ‘great pain’ over the ‘abject theatrics’ that he was at the receiving end of. President Droupadi Murmu, too, expressed her dismay over the incident. The President said elected representatives, while reserving the right and freedom to express themselves, should do so within the norms of dignity and courtesy.
In the line of fire from the Treasury and the Centre, Banerjee issued a clarification saying he did not intend to hurt anyone. “I wasn’t intending to hurt anyone. I do not know why he is taking this on himself. Does he act like this in the Rajya Sabha?” the TMC MP told reporters as the mimicry row exploded.
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