Jagdeep Dhankar ko gussa kyon aata hai?

Our Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhad is angry. Super angry. Why? Because Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicked him in the parliament premises and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi filmed the whole act along with several other MPs who belonged to the Opposition benches. Dhankhad has termed this as an insult not just to him, but also his community. The President of India called him and offered her support. So did the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Even the Treasury benches stood for an hour in his honour, flaying this ‘disgusting and shameeful act’ by the Opposition. Dhankhad’s anger is understandable. Not many weeks ago, a video of his, where he bows several times to PM Modi, was shared on the social media by the trolls. A pained Dhankhad had expressed his displeasure, then too. Dhankhad is very often a target of the Opposition who claim he is biased towards the ruling dispensation, a charge denied by the VP defiantly.

Let’s look at the act of mimicry. Why were the Opposition MPs in the premises of the Parliament and not inside the Parliament? Because they had been suspended for the remainder of the winter session. How many? As many as 141. The number would have been 142, had the Lok Sabha secretariat not found out that one MP from Tamilnadu who was suspended for unruly behaviour, was not even present in the Parliament on that day. This is a record number of MPs suspended from the Parliament during one session. The last time’s record was during late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, who enjoyed a brute majority in Loksabha with over 400 MPs. And when the elections were held later that year, Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress party had lost the elections. So maybe there’s a lesson over there. But let’s not delve over it too much. Let’s focus on the ‘crime’ of the Opposition MPs suspended this time. What was their demand? A simple one: the recent security breach of the Parliament, where a bunch of youths easily accessed the Parliament (on passes issued by a BJP MP’s office), raised slogans and even carried smoke canisters, was a serious incident and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah must make a statement in the House. As the government was not relenting, the Opposition MPs were sometimes entering the well (a space before the Speaker or the Chairperson) and were raising slogans. Some MPs didn’t even enter the well, just stood from their seats and asked a question and were suspended. So the security breach was not being discussed by either House, though it should have been. How dare a bunch of people just enter the place where our lawmakers sit and create a ruckus? We should have also viewed this breach in view of the threat issued by the US-based Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. One is sure that the government and its agencies are taking this breach very seriously and the intent is obvious as the youths have been slapped with UAPA charges. But the question is: does the Opposition have the right to know? And is it wrong to raise questions? It is wrong, apparently, at least the BJP MP Hema Malini thinks so. She says they ask too many questions abd behave weirdly. So asking questions is wrong.

One is, therefore, reminded of Purushottam Mavlankar, an Independent MP from Gujarat (yes, Gujarat), who famously questioned the Indira Gandhi government right in the Parliament after she imposed emergency in 1975. Even as most Opposition MPs were either arrested or had boycotted the session, Mavlankar reached the parliament and gave the famous speech on July 23, 1975 that galvanized the country and the Opposition. Just read the important points from his speech that was given in the face of the authoritarian regime of Indira Gandhi. This is a dark day in the history of our democracy. The Constitution has been suspended. Fundamental rights have been abrogated. The press has been gagged. The judiciary has been shackled. And the voice of dissent has been silenced.

The Emergency is a denial of the will of the people. It is a betrayal of the trust that the people have placed in their elected representatives.

The government has been resorting to arbitrary arrests of political opponents. People are being detained without charge or trial. This is a violation of the fundamental right to personal liberty.

The government has been censoring the press. Newspapers and magazines are being banned. This is a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of speech.

The government has suspended civil liberties. People are being denied the right to assemble, the right to associate, and the right to protest. This is a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of association.

The Indian people will not tolerate the Emergency for long. They will rise up and demand their rights.

Thankfully, there is no emergency imposed in our country and one is free to exercise one’s right to freedom of expression. The same right that allows one to criticise, or mimic each other. Our VP is a learned, kindhearted and a humble person and will soon accept this right of our Opposition MPs as well.