‘INDIA bloc insults people in constitutional positions coming from humble background’

NEW DELHI: The INDIA bloc has a tradition of insulting people who come from backward and humble backgrounds and hold constitutional positions, the BJP claimed on Tuesday, slamming the Opposition after TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee for derisively mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar during a protest.

Union minister Pralhad Joshi also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was seen filming Banerjee’s skit, and demanded an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

“INDIA bloc parties have been like touring talkies, holding their meetings in different cities. Now this drama company has started mimicry by making fun of a person who is from OBC (Other Backward Classes) and farming background. Rahul Gandhi has no sense, let alone any good sense. Kharge should apologise,” Joshi told reporters.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said at a press conference that the way Dhankhar has been made fun of shows INDIA bloc leaders have little regard for the Constitution and parliamentary norms and they stand for confrontation and disruption.

With 141 of Opposition MPs suspended from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for disrupting proceedings, many of them held a protest at Parliament’s main entrance for lawmakers on Tuesday.

During the protest, Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee, suspended from Lok Sabha, mimicked Dhankhar’s mannerism to make a point about his alleged partisanship and was cheered by his colleagues. Rahul Gandhi also witnessed their mock proceedings briefly.

Opposition leaders are holding Parliament hostage and have prioritised their and their parties’ interests over the country’s, he alleged. “They have a longstanding tradition of insulting those holding constitutional positions.”