By Tirthankar Mitra
No sooner than the Opposition found itself an opening, and the moral high-ground, after the suspension of 143 MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and on the threshold of gaining voter-sympathy, it found itself down by a self-goal. This by a three-time Trinamool Congress MP from Serampore, who also happens to be the Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha
It was Kalyan Banerjee's mimicry of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. And INDI Alliance knows that Dhankar also presides over the Rajya Sabha. That put Banerjee's party, and the INDI Alliance bloc, on the backfoot. President Droupadi Murmu condemned the incident while Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up the Vice-president expressing his concern.
Matters came to such a pass that Banerjee was dropped from a delegation of party MPs and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee which met Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to clear the passage of Union government funds which are meant for various development projects in West Bengal. His party and its supremo's had realised that he would be a persona non grata and an eyesore in the presence of the Prime Minister, who had told Dhankar he knew how mimicry could hurt.
Astute politician that she is, the TMC supremo was aware of the fact that the Serampore MP's presence would have fouled the air of the meeting which is reported to have ended well. Strident critic though she is of the Prime Minister ‘s actions, the TMC chieftain had no desire to rub the PM the wrong way at this juncture.
It is by Kalyan Banerjee's admission that his party chief had informed him of leaving him out of the delegation. If Banerjee mentioned that Dr Kakali Ghosh Dastidar was also left out, it could not gloss over his misdemeanour nor the discomfiture his presence would have generated.
Matters did not improve for the suspended MP from Lok Sabha that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had clicked Banerjee's mimicry on his mobile. It has turned out to be a backhanded display of camaraderie within the INDI Alliance.
The Opposition had a breather of sorts with the suspension of the MPs of both the Houses — an unexpected lemon-break after the election debacle in three of the five states which recently went to the polls. If the caste census and pension push failed to find resonance among the electorate, both the Houses virtually being made Opposition-free by a high-handed government action, gave the INDI Alliance the much-needed toehold. But it slipped, much like a butter-fingered fielder on the cricket pitch drops a slanting catch.
The Trinamool MP gifted the BJP an opportunity to make an issue of disrespecting a constitutional office. Without mincing words the action of the Serampore MP was juvenile. Banerjee seems to have arrived at a belated realisation of his deed. But his words that the last thing he wanted was to cause any hurt to Dhankhar, a senior to him in the legal profession, cut no ice.
Banerjee stated later that mimicry is an art and even Prime Minister Modi had been seen practising it in the Lok Sabha. Surely he would not be following the Prime Minister in the days to come, would he?.
The Trinamool chief could have retrieved the situation had she given Banerjee a public dressing down. She did not, thus losing the chance to set an example. This is not the first time a Trinamool leader had shown disrespect to the holder of a high constitutional office. On the previous occasion it was Akhil Giri, a member of the state Cabinet, who had shown disrespect to President Droupadi Murmu.
Then, the Trinamool supremo chose to turn a blind eye. But giving Banerjee's act a go-by she has missed an opportunity to grab the political centrestage for herself. Though the TMC supremo has named Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as INDI Alliance's prime ministerial face, she is still known to nurse high political ambition at the national level. Her desire to dominate national politics would have gone up a few notches had Banerjee been given an earful by the party supremo.
It is nobody's case that a constitutional office holder is beyond questioning or criticism. It is the duty of the Opposition to do so. But Kalyan Banerjee overstepped. His action was unbecoming of a people's representative. He has been caught out of the crease. It has led to both him and the INDI Alliance being stumped.
In the process, the sympathy of voters which the Opposition gathered following the suspension of its MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had been squandered. The INDI Alliance has missed the bus on the occasion on which it had little reason to do so. (IPA Service)
