Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar went head-to-head in Parliament Friday after the former said the latter’s “tone is not acceptable”.

A furious Mr Dhankhar hit back sharply, declaring “I don’t want a schooling!” and told Ms Bachchan, “You may be a celebrity (but) you have to understand the decorum…”

Ms Bachchan had prefaced her remarks (before she was cut short by Mr Dhankhar and told, repeatedly, to “take your seat”) by introducing herself as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” – a swipe at a related row with Mr Dhankhar that triggered sharp exchanges of its own earlier this week.

“Sir, I, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan (to chuckles from some benches), want to say this… I am an actor. I understand body language and expression (to applause) and, forgive me, but your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues, sir… you may be sitting in the Chair but I remember when I went to school…” she said before Mr Dhankhar waved his hands and told her to sit down.

“Jayaji, take your seat… take your seat…” Mr Dhankhar said repeatedly as the noise level went up in a Rajya Sabha chamber that, new though it may be, has seen many heated battles.

“Honourable members… Honourable members…” Mr Dhankhar continued, waving restraint at the other side of the House, “Please sit… please sit. I know how to deal with it.”

Watch: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar reacted to Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’s statement, says, “You have earned a great reputation. You know, an actor is subject to the director. You have not seen what I see from here every day…” pic.twitter.com/ozwXADQbpd

— IANS (@ians_india) August 9, 2024

The Chair then turned to Ms Bachchan and began his counter.

“Jayaji, you have earned a great reputation. (But) you know the actor is subject to the director… you have not seen what I have seen from here (the Chair). Every day… I don’t want to repeat, I don’t want a schooling. I am a person who has gone out of the way … and you say ‘my tone’?”

“No… no… enough of this. No. You can’t have it. No…” the Rajya Sabha Chair shouted firmly.

“You may be anybody… you may be a celebrity (but) you have to understand the decorum,” a by-now furious Mr Dhankhar declared, waving away further protests from both sides of the House.

“Nothing doing… no. Not at all… I will not hear it,” Mr Dhankar concluded.

Opposition Walk Out

After the fiery exchange opposition MPs led by Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi walked out to support Ms Bachchan, and underline their claims they were not being allowed to speak during House debates.

Opposition MPs – led by Sonia Gandhi and the Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien – then gathered outside Parliament, flanking Ms Bachchan in a significant statement, and several spoke on her behalf.

Congress comms chief Jairam Ramesh told reporters opposition MPs had been repeatedly insulted in Parliament and denied a chance to speak. Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out Ms Bachchan has “vast parliamentary experience… more than the Vice President”, while her Trinamool Congress colleague, Dola Sen, said Ms Bachchan is a four-time MP and deserves respect.

READ | Sonia Gandhi Leads Walkout After Jaya Bachchan Vs Rajya Sabha Chairman

Speaking to reporters to explain her position, Ms Bachchan said, “It was a humiliating experience…” and criticised the treatment of opposition MPs, contrasting it with the latitude for those from the BJP.

“Whatever is said from the Chair… is allowed. Outside the Chair, the individual is like us.. an MP. I objected to the tone used by the Chair. We are not school children and some of us are even senior citizens. I was upset with the tone… especially when the Leader of the Opposition (Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge) stood up to speak he (the Chair) switched the mike off…” she said.

“And, on top of that, every time words that are unparliamentary are used… like ‘nuisance’, like ‘you may be a celebrity but I don’t care’. I am not asking him to care! Nobody has ever spoken the way they do now in Parliament. What is the problem? It is so disrespectful to women,” she said firmly.

BJP Slams Opposition Over Walk-Out

Opposition MPs’ walk-out triggered a furious reaction from BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP JP Nadda, who called the protest “indecent and irresponsible” behaviour. “The opposition wants to weaken the country (and should) apologise,” he declared in the (by now largely empty) House.

“It is clear that their standards have fallen in politics… from opposing a party and individual, now they are opposing the country. They want to divide the country,” he claimed.

Mr Nadda wasn’t the only BJP leader to hit out at the opposition. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared “I have never seen such unruly, indecent behavior of the opposition”.

“Today the mind is distressed…filled with pain. This is not only an insult to the Chair, it is an insult to the democratic values ​​of the country. It is an insult to democracy… it is an insult to the Constitution.”

“Today it has been proved that the irresponsible opposition is trying to push the country into anarchy. The opposition should apologise.. has shamed the House and country,” he claimed.

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