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There seems to be no end to the controversy over Kalyan Banerjee as the Trinamool Congress MP once again mimicked Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. A huge political erupted last week after Kalyan Banerjee, during the protest with other suspended MPs at Parliament’s Makar Dwar, was seen mimicking Vice President Dhankhar, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen filming the TMC leader on his phone.
Upset over the incident, Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his pain and said his position as the Vice President of India has been insulted by the opposition members. Dhankhar also claimed it was an insult to his background as a Jat, his caste, and as someone who comes from a family of farmers.
Speaking at an event in West Bengal’s Serampore on Saturday, Kalyan Banerjee reportedly claimed that he would continue to mimic Dhankhar, terming it as an “art form”. Banerjee added that he would do it a thousand times and that he had a fundamental right to do so, India Today reported.
“I will keep doing the mimicry. It is an art form. If needed, I will do it a thousand times. I have all the fundamental rights to express my views. You can put me in jail. I will not step back,” India Today quoted Banerjee as saying.
The TMC MP also criticised Dhankhar for getting upset over a “trivial issue”.
Banerjee reportedly claimed that he first learned mimicry from the Prime Minister in Parliament. Then from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “We took them sportingly. Now if he starts crying without understanding the joke, there is nothing I can do…,” Banerjee said, mocking that “Dhankhar cried like a child”.
Kalyan Banerjee and a history of contentious remarks
Kalyan Banerjee, 66, is no stranger to controversy, who has a prolonged history of issuing contentious remarks aimed at political adversaries. The political row unfolded as Banerjee mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on the Parliament stairs on Tuesday, condemning the suspension of MPs.
The act drew sharp criticism from the ruling BJP. The controversy surrounding Banerjee’s mimicry of Dhankhar took centre stage, resonating both inside and outside Parliament.
President Droupadi Murmu, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed dismay over the incident. Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairperson, said in the House that he would not tolerate any disrespect to Parliament or the constitutional post of the vice president.
In response, Banerjee clarified that he did not intend to harm anyone with his actions in the Parliament complex on Tuesday. The former lawyer-turned-politician has earned the moniker “loose cannon” from political opponents due to a track record of making derogatory remarks against former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Dhankhar during his tenure as the governor of West Bengal.
Banerjee, baptized in student politics and a law graduate, has been a loyal supporter of Mamata Banerjee. He first became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in West Bengal in 2001. Serving as a three-time MP from the Serampore Lok Sabha seat, Banerjee first gained notoriety in 2009 for criticising then Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s time spent at the city’s cultural hub, Nandan.
In 2012, during the TMC’s withdrawal of support from the Congress-led UPA government, Banerjee engaged in a verbal spat with then-Union minister Anand Sharma over the issue of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI).
Four years later, amid protests against demonetisation outside the Reserve Bank of India office in Kolkata, Banerjee made some controversial remarks against Modi, leading to widespread condemnation.
In January 2021, just months before the assembly polls, Banerjee stirred controversy by invoking Goddess Sita and Lord Ram while criticising the BJP over the Hathras incident in Uttar Pradesh. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the BJP vehemently criticised Banerjee, demanding his immediate arrest for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
During Dhankhar’s tenure as the West Bengal governor, the state government frequently clashed with him. On numerous occasions, Banerjee, along with other leaders, spearheaded protests against the Raj Bhavan. He even urged TMC workers to file police complaints against Dhankhar, suggesting that legal action be initiated once he ceases to be the Governor of the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
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