TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, who mimicked Jagdeep Dhankhar, now lauds vice-prez

'I am truly overwhelmed that the vice president spoke to me and my wife and invited us for dinner at his place,' TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said on Friday

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Friday lauded Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar's "great gesture" of wishing him on his birthday, just days after the MP's mimicry of the Rajya Sabha chairman sparked a big political uproar.

"I thank Hon'ble @VPIndia for his warm greetings on my Birthday. I'm overwhelmed that he personally had a telephone conversation with my wife and conveyed his blessings to my entire family. He also invited my wife and me to have dinner at his residence in Delhi with his family," Kalyan Banerjee wrote on social media X (formerly Twitter).
 

He further said that it was "indeed a great effort and gesture" by the vice president to wish him on his birthday. "I am truly overwhelmed that he spoke to me and my wife and invited us for dinner at his place," Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

When asked if Dhankhar's gesture could improve relations between the two, Banerjee said, "Life must always move on, leaving behind past misunderstandings."

Kalyan Banerjee's mimicry episode

Kalyan Banerjee mimicked Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, during the Opposition's protest in Parliament on December 19 against the mass suspension of MPs, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

While Dhankhar had then said in the House that he would not tolerate any disrespect to Parliament or the constitutional post of the vice president, Banerjee had asserted that mimicry is a form of expression, and the right to dissent and protest is a fundamental right.

"Mimicry is a right, an expression, it is a fundamental right," he said, asserting that nobody can "destroy" it.