New Delhi:
Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee today brushed aside the huge political row over impersonation, calling it 'casually political'.
Asked to comment on the issue today in Delhi, Ms Banerjee said: “We respect everyone. This isn't about disrespect. This is just casual politics… If Rahul (Gandhi) had not taken a cell phone video, you would not have come to this case. even know about it.”
Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been in the eye of the storm since her party's MP Kalyan Banerjee was spotted outside Parliament impersonating Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Gandhi was criticized by the BJP for filming the moment on his mobile phone.
Minutes earlier, around 100 opposition MPs were suspended from both houses of Parliament over their vocal demand that Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement on last week's unprecedented security breach.
With the suspensions coming for the second day in a row, the opposition is furious.
The BJP has since gone into a frenzy, accusing the opposition of disrespecting constitutional positions. Today, Mr Dhankhar said: “I don't care how much you insult Jagdeep Dhankhar. But I cannot tolerate the Vice President of India, the farming community, my community… I will not tolerate that I could not do that. To protect the dignity of my post, it is my duty to protect the dignity of this House.”
The Congress is fighting tooth and nail.
Senior party leader Randeep Surjewala, in a lengthy social media post, cited several instances where the BJP has 'insulted' the Constitution, farmers, their daughters who were wrestlers, and their relatives who are in the army.
➡️ I think it's good
➡️ I think I like it ै।
➡️ I think it's good1. I think it's a good idea I think I did a good job – नक् I think I like it… pic.twitter.com/T0l0ukJbqE
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) December 20, 2023
“The dignity of the post does not arise from caste, but from sense of duty. When the government itself attacks the Constitution, the opposition to it is real patriotism. Jai Hind!” read his message.