President Condemns, PM Modi Expresses Pain Over TMC Leader’s Mimicry Of VP

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday condemned the incident of a TMC leader's mimicry of the Vice President during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension.

Urging the leaders to express to uphold dignity, she said, "I was dismayed to see the manner in which our respected Vice President was humiliated in the Parliament complex. Elected representatives must be free to express themselves, but their expression should be within the norms of dignity and courtesy. That has been the Parliamentary tradition we are proud of, and the People of India expect them to uphold it."

A political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen making a video of the performance by Banerjee wherein she seemed to imitate Dhankhar's walking style by leaning forward and alluding to the concept of having a spine.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Vice President and expressed "great pain over the abject theatrics."

" He told me that he has been at the receiving end of such insults for twenty years and counting but the fact that it could happen to a Constitutional office like the Vice President of India and that too in the Parliament was unfortunate.

I told him- Mr. Prime Minister, the antics of a few won't prevent me from performing my duty and upholding the principles enshrined in our Constitution. I am committed to those values from the bottom of my heart. None of the insults will make me change my path," the Vice President said on Twitter.

Dhankhar had given vent to his anguish in Rajya Sabha, saying he was personally hurt as his farmer and Jat backgrounds were targeted.

"Imagine what must be going through my heart when your senior leader videographs a Member of Parliament mocking the institution of the chairman," he said in Rajya Sabha.

"...You used Twitter, the official handle of the spokesperson, to demean me, insult me, insult my background as a farmer, insult my position as a Jat, insult my position as chairman," Dhankhar had said addressing Congress member P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha.