The controversy surrounding TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of Dhankhar took centre stage on Wednesday, resonating both inside and outside Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed dismay over the incident.
Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairperson, said in the House that he would not tolerate any disrespect to Parliament or the constitutional post of the vice president. In response, Banerjee clarified that he did not intend to harm anyone with his actions in the Parliament complex on Tuesday.
The 66-year-old former lawyer-turned-politician has earned the moniker “loose cannon” from political opponents due to a track record of making derogatory remarks against former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during his tenure as the governor of West Bengal.
Banerjee, baptized in student politics and a law graduate, has been a loyal supporter of Mamata Banerjee. He first became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in West Bengal in 2001.
Serving as a three-time Member of Parliament from the Serampore Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, Banerjee first gained notoriety in 2009 for criticizing then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s time spent at the city’s cultural hub, Nandan. In 2012, during the TMC’s withdrawal of support from the Congress-led UPA government, Banerjee engaged in a verbal spat with then-Union Minister Anand Sharma over the issue of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI). Four years later, amid protests against demonetisation outside the Reserve Bank of India office in Kolkata, Banerjee made some controversial remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to widespread condemnation.
In January 2021, just months before the assembly polls, Kalyan Banerjee stirred controversy by invoking Goddess Sita and Lord Ram while criticising the BJP over the Hathras incident in Uttar Pradesh. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the BJP vehemently criticised Banerjee, demanding his immediate arrest for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
During Dhankhar’s tenure as the West Bengal governor, the state government frequently clashed with him.
On numerous occasions, Banerjee, along with other leaders, spearheaded protests against the Raj Bhavan. He even urged TMC workers to file police complaints against Dhankhar, suggesting that legal action be initiated once he ceases to be the Governor of the state.
Renowned for his legal acumen within the party, Banerjee is the go-to person for advice on most legal matters that the party or the state government may need to litigate.