A representative to the Lok Sabha carries the privileges and expectations of the people who voted for him.
A four-term Member of Parliament — a lawyer and among the most senior leaders of his party — should not require lessons in either civics or civility. On Tuesday, Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress was suspended for a day from the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The disciplinary action against him came after he smashed a glass bottle during the JCP meeting, reportedly during a heated exchange with former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP MP Abhijit Ganguly. Committee Chair Jagdambika Pal has alleged that Banerjee was attempting to throw the bottle at him — the TMC leader ended up injuring himself. Parliament — including its committees — is a place for dissent, debate and even vociferous argument.
It is not — and must not become — an avenue for abuse and violence. Banerjee, unfortunately, seems not to realise this. And at a time when the Opposition is trying to gain ground, and at times, the moral high ground — after a decade in relative political wilderness — his actions are a terrible letdown.
A representative to the Lok Sabha carries the privileges and expectations of the people who voted for him. Unfortunately, the incident this week is not the first time Banerjee has pushed the boundaries of propriety. Last year, when 147 MPs had been suspended and the Opposition was besieged, the TMC MP’s crude mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar drew unwarranted attention. In fact, throughout Dhankhar’s tumultuous tenure as Governor of West Bengal, Banerjee constantly avoided the high ground — he called Dhankhar a “bloodsucker” and filed cases against him.
Earlier this year, during the Lok Sabha campaign, he referred pejoratively to CPM candidate Dipsita Dhar’s complexion, and in 2009, he made off-colour and unsubstantiated remarks about then West Bengal CM’s personal habits.
Banerjee’s conduct at the parliamentary committee meet, then, is no aberration. Given his position and seniority in the TMC, it can also be seen as part of what ails the party. Into its third term in office in West Bengal, and as the fourth-largest party in the Lok Sabha, the TMC is no longer just a party of protest and the street. While its origins were “anti-establishment” in an era of Left dominance, it is now part of the power structure. Its leaders, with their words and actions, cannot be so immature as to resort to abuse and violence.
Banerjee’s behaviour is not just politically counterproductive. It also shows an unconscionable disregard for the processes of Parliament and the people he represents.
