Jagdeep Dhankhar mimicry row: BJP, Congress trade blows over ‘insult to Jat community’

On Tuesday, as the video of the act went viral on social media, Mr. Dhankhar referred to it in the Rajya Sabha. Addressing the Opposition benches, he said, “You [Congress] used the official Twitter handle of the spokesperson to demean me, insult me, insult my background as a farmer, my position as a Jat, insult my position as a Chairman.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday condemned the act. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he said: “For the first time a farmer’s son of the Jat community has risen to occupy such a high constitutional office, but they [Opposition] have been insulting this constitutional position also.”

The Congress was quick to respond on the issue, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge saying that “caste should not be dragged into every issue”. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Kharge said that Mr. Dhankhar should protect other members of the House instead of making such statements.