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"राहुल, नाम तो सुना होगा": In the latest political drama, Mamata Banerjee skillfully sidesteps condemning Kalyan Banerjee's mockery of VP Dhankhar, deftly throwing Rahul Gandhi under the bus, turning a serious political discourse into a masterclass circus

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is a member of the I.N.D.I. Alliance, propped by the Congress party in the hopes of defeating the Narendra Modi-led-BJP govt in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
 |  Satyaagrah  |  Politics
Mamata Banerjee refuses to condemn Kalyan Banerjee’s mockery of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, throws Rahul Gandhi under the bus instead
Mamata Banerjee refuses to condemn Kalyan Banerjee’s mockery of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, throws Rahul Gandhi under the bus instead

In the latest episode of political theater that would make even the best satirists blush, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee turned a potential controversy into a game of political hot potato. The story begins with Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee, who apparently thought it would be a fun idea to mimic and ridicule the Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar. Now, in most political circles, this might have raised a few eyebrows or even led to a stern rebuke. But not in this tale!

The day after Kalyan's impromptu comedy show, Mamata Banerjee, the mastermind behind TMC's drama troupe, decided to take the stage. Instead of joining the chorus of expected condemnation, she performed a dramatic plot twist! She didn't just refuse to condemn Kalyan Banerjee's antics; she decided to toss Congress leader Rahul Gandhi under the proverbial bus instead. Why blame your own team when you can blame the opposition, right?

In a statement that could have easily been mistaken for a script from a political satire, Mamata Banerjee declared to the reporters, “We respect everyone. There is no question of disrespecting anyone. It was a casual, political mockery. Anyway, you would have not known if Rahul ji did not make a video,” implying that it's not the mockery that's the problem, but getting caught on camera by none other than Rahul Gandhi! It's almost as if she said, "Come on, can't you take a joke? And by the way, let's talk about Rahul Gandhi instead."

This episode, while it might raise some serious questions about political decorum, also adds a dash of humor to the often too-serious world of politics. It's like watching a game of dodgeball where the players are not just dodging balls but also responsibilities, with a side of good old blame-shifting. In the end, it appears that in the world of politics, sometimes the best defense is a good offense, especially if it involves blaming someone else!

In the next act of this political comedy, when Mamata Banerjee was pressed about whether she endorses the mimicry of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, she performed a classic political sidestep. It's almost as if she was in a game of "Twister" and the question was a left-hand red, but she went right-foot blue instead! Her response? “I will only talk about issues about Bengal.” Talk about staying on-brand! It's as if she said, "Mockery? What mockery? Let's chat about the lovely Bengali sweets instead."

Now, here's where the plot thickens, or rather, becomes deliciously ironic. Mamata Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress, is part of the I.N.D.I. Alliance, which sounds like a group that could be superheroes or a boy band, but is actually propped up by none other than the Congress party. Their grand plan? To defeat the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It's like a political version of "The Avengers," except with more speeches and fewer capes.

But when it came to defending Rahul Gandhi, who, in this drama, plays the role of the unintentionally funny sidekick, Mamata Banerjee didn't hesitate to toss him under the bus. It's like she's playing a game of political "Among Us," where Rahul is the unsuspecting crewmate. Kalyan Banerjee, on the other hand, must have felt like he won a 'get out of jail free' card in Monopoly, courtesy of Mamata Banerjee's protective umbrella.

It turns out that Rahul Gandhi, the man caught in the crossfire of Mamata Banerjee's deflection tactics, wasn't even the one who spread the video across social media. In a twist worthy of a sitcom, he was merely recording the spectacle in his own private capacity, like someone making a home video at a family reunion, except the family is a political party, and the reunion is a public event.

But wait, there's more! The media, ever eager to catch every moment of political shenanigans, captured Rahul Gandhi in the act of filming from a different angle. They then shared this footage on their channels, turning what might have been a private archive into a public broadcast. It's like catching someone taking a selfie and then putting it on a billboard.

This is where Mamata Banerjee's misunderstanding turns into a comedy goldmine. She seems to have mistaken this media magnification for Rahul Gandhi's own broadcast network. It’s as if she thought, "Ah, Rahul made a video? Must be his new hobby after politics!" In her view, the circulation of her party member Kalyan Banerjee’s not-so-flattering portrayal was all thanks to Rahul's newfound passion for videography.

In the final act of this political sitcom, Rahul Gandhi steps up to the mic for his defense, turning the situation into a scene straight out of a comedy show. He claimed, "MPs were sitting there, I shot their video. My video is on my phone. The media is showing it...Nobody has said anything." It's as if he's saying, "I was just a guy with a phone, folks! The media did the rest." Rahul Gandhi, in this narrative, is less a mastermind and more of an accidental cinematographer who happened to capture a moment now making rounds on national television.

But wait, there's a twist! Instead of dwelling on this episode of impromptu comedy, Rahul Gandhi, like a magician trying to distract his audience, quickly shifts gears. He attempts to divert the conversation to every other political issue under the sun. It's like he's pulling issues out of a hat: "And for my next trick, let's talk about everything but this video!"

He brings up the plight of 150 Congress MPs who were allegedly ousted from the House, lamenting the lack of media attention on this issue. He then proceeds to rattle off a list that could double as a political bingo card: Adani, Rafale, unemployment. “Our MPs are disheartened and sitting outside. But you are discussing that (mimicry),” he exclaimed, in a tone that might have been used by a parent scolding a child for focusing on cartoons instead of homework.

This statement is like a comedic monologue where the punchline is the absurdity of focusing on a mimicry act when there are bigger fish to fry. Rahul Gandhi, in his attempt to steer the conversation away from the video, inadvertently adds another layer of humor to the entire episode. The situation transforms into a political 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' where the points are made up, and the topics don't matter. In the world of political satire, this sequence of events might just be a scriptwriter's dream!

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