Jagdeep Dhankhar vs Jaya Bachchan: It was a new day and new drama in the Rajya Sabha on Friday as the Parliament moved ahead with the monsoon session. After Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's heated exchange with the Opposition and exit from the House on Thursday, a similar scene unfolded on the floor on Friday. This time, it was Jagdeep Dhankhar and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan got involved in a verbal spat over the Chairman's tone.
Jaya Bachchan said to Dhankhar: "I am an artist, I understand body language; I understand expressions. I am sorry, your tone is not acceptable." She was reacting to the Speaker addressing her as: "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan", an allusion to her marriage to the Bollywood superstar.
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The issue has been a point of contention between the two. On July 5, the two had engaged in an argument on the same issue. Then, too, Jagdeep Dhankhar had addressed the MP as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan". On July 2, the Samajwadi Party MP had sarcastically stressed her name as she began her address, saying: "I Jaya 'Amitabh' Bachchan want to ask you..." However, it was a jovial moment as the Speaker and other members of the house burst out laughing at her remarks.
A visibly upset Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said that in his efforts to run the house he had gone out of his wife: "You may be a celebrity but you have to understand the decorum... Never be under the impression that only you come here with a reputation." At this time, a member of the Opposition said, presumably TMC's Sushmita Dev, said: "She is a senior member of the Parliament. How can you call her 'celebrity'." Reacting to this Dhankhar fired back: "Does a senior member of Parliament have the licence have the right to bring down the right to bring down the Chair's reputation? I know you want to destabilise the entire nation."
Following the exchange, the Opposition staged a walkout of Rajya Sabha, alleging that the Speaker "misbehaved" with Jaya Bachchan.
Outside the Parliament, Jaya Bachchan sought an apology for the alleged misbehaviour. "I objected to the tone used by the Chair. We are not schoolchildren. Some of us are senior citizens. I was upset with the tone and especially when the Leader of Opposition stood up to speak, he switched off the mic. How can you do this? You have to allow the Leader of Opposition to speak... I mean using unparliamentary words every time which I do not want to say in front of you all. You are a nuisance, 'Buddhiheen'. He said 'you may be a celebrity, I do not care'. I am not asking him to care. I am saying I am a Member of Parliament. This is my fifth term. I know what I am saying. The way things are being spoken in Parliament these days, nobody has ever spoken before. I want an apology."
How The 'Insult' Allegations Started In Rajya Sabha
Recently, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari made some comments against Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge, which upset the Congress. After a protest, Speaker Dhankhar tried to mediate between Kharge and Tiwari in his chamber. Sources told ABP News that Tiwari praised Kharge a lot in the closed-room meeting.
On Thursday, Congress demanded that Tiwari should say that same thing on the floor of the House and express regret. The Speaker was not ready for this, nor was Kharge allowed to speak as demanded by the Opposition. At this, Jaya Bachchan stood up and questioned Dhankhar's style of conducting the House.