Mimicry Overshadows Suspensions
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-12-22 03:42:51
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The India Commentary view
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Mimicry is defined as "the action or skill of imitating someone or something, especially in order to entertain or ridicule". TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee's act mimicking Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on the stairs of Parliament House in front of the assembled MPs and other leaders, despite his denial that he meant no disrespect, was a combination of both. He wanted to entertain the MPs and at the same time ridicule Dhankhar. It was a juvenile act not befitting a man of Banerjee's stature. The worst part is that none of the other MPs thought fit to restrain him - instead, they laughed and applauded through his long act. Rahul Gandhi, disgustingly, made a video recording of the 'performance' and it was posted on the official X (previously Twitter) handle of the Congress party (later deleted).
Every time the opposition has the government by the scruff of the neck (as now, in the case of the security breach at Parliament House), some loose cannon from its side says or does something despicable to allow the government to wriggle out of the situation. Instead of the government looking bad for suspending so many MPs during the winter session, the focus has now entirely shifted on Banerjee and his juvenile act. Blaming the BJP for changing the narrative will not do as the opposition has provided it with the opportunity through Banerjee's self-goal.
The BJP, too, cannot occupy the high moral ground in this matter. While it has accused Banerjee of showing disrespect to a constitutional chair, it has conveniently forgotten that no less than Prime Minister Modi has mimicked Congress leaders inside Parliament and the Congress has released a video allegedly showing PM Modi mimicking the then Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
But two wrong do not make a right. PM Modi was wrong when he tried his hand at mimicry and was rightly criticized then for his childish acts. Kalyan Banerjee is wrong now. The least he can do is offer an unconditional apology to Dhankhar to close the sordid chapter.
