TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee: Vice President embroiled in controversy for copying Jagdeep Dhankhar TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee (TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee)’s connection with controversies is not new. Banerjee has a long history of making controversial comments to target her political rivals. The political controversy started when Banerjee ‘mimicked’ Dhankhar on Tuesday on the steps of Parliament during a protest by opposition parties and condemned the suspension of the MPs. BJP has strongly criticized this act of Banerjee and the video recording of it by Rahul Gandhi. Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament, Dhankhar said in the House that he will not tolerate insult to the Parliament or the constitutional post of the Vice President. In response, Banerjee clarified that she had no intention of harming anyone by her actions in the Parliament complex on Tuesday.
Lawyer turned leader Kalyan Banerjee
66-year-old lawyer-turned-politician Kalyan Banerjee has been making comments against former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (now Deputy Vice President). Due to this old record of Banerjee, her political rivals have given her the nickname ‘Loose Canon’. ‘Loose cannon’ means a person who does not have control over his own behavior and creates problems for others through his actions.
Kalyan Banerjee has been a staunch supporter of Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee, who has been active in student politics, has graduated in law and has been a staunch supporter of Mamata Banerjee. He was first elected as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 2001. Banerjee, who was elected to Parliament thrice from Srirampur Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, first came to the center of controversy in 2009 for criticizing the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Mamata Banerjee had criticized Bhattacharya over the time he spent at Nandan, the cultural hub of the city.
Controversial comments made during protests against demonetization
In 2012, when TMC withdrew support from the Congress-led UPA government, a war of words broke out between Banerjee and the then Union Minister Anand Sharma on 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 comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which were widely condemned.
Had also come into controversy regarding Hathras incident
In January 2021, a few months before the assembly elections, Kalyan Banerjee had courted controversy by mentioning Goddess Sita and Lord Ram while criticizing the BJP over the Hathras incident in Uttar Pradesh. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP sharply criticized Banerjee and demanded her immediate arrest for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. During Dhankhar’s tenure as Governor of West Bengal, the state government frequently clashed with him. On several occasions, Banerjee along with other leaders led protests against the Raj Bhavan. Banerjee is known for his legal acumen within the party and he also provides legal advice to the state government in necessary cases.