Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on Friday were involved in a heated exchange after Bachchan accused Dhankhar of addressing her in an “unacceptable” tone. Dhankhar responded with an angry retort, asserting that he could not be “schooled.”
The confrontation prompted protests from opposition members, led by senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who eventually walked out of the Rajya Sabha.
This incident is not the first heated exchange between Bachchan and Dhankhar. Bachchan has had previous confrontations with Dhankhar that also made headlines. Here are a few notable instances of their clashes in Parliament:
Tense Exchange In Rajya Sabha Today
On Friday, the confrontation happened during a discussion about remarks made by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari regarding Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
Dhankhar, defending Tiwari’s remarks, faced a pointed rebuke from Bachchan, who said, “Main Jaya Amitabh Bachchan kalakar hoon, body language samajhti hoon, expression samajhti hoon… par sir, mujhe maaf kariega magar apka tone jo hai is not acceptable. (I Jaya Amitabh Bachchan am an actor. I understand body language and expression. Please forgive me but sir your tone is unacceptable). We are colleagues sir, you may be sitting on the Chair.” Dhankhar shot back, saying he does not want to be schooled, and said, “Enough of it”.
An agitated Dhankhar responded by saying he did not wish to be “schooled” and emphasised that even celebrities must adhere to parliamentary decorum.
“Jaya ji, you’ve earned a great reputation. You know, an actor is subject to the director. You’ve not seen what I see from here… I don’t want to be schooled. I am a person who has gone out of the way, and you say my tone…” As opposition MPs objected, he said, “enough of it… no.” “You may be anybody, you may be a celebrity, (but) you have to understand the decorum. Nothing doing,” he told Bachchan.
The ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ Controversy
Last month, Bachchan had expressed her displeasure when Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh addressed her as “Shrimati Jaya Amitabh Bachchan,” referencing her husband, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
She argued that simply calling her “Jaya Bachchan” would have been sufficient. Singh, however, explained that her official name includes Amitabh as a middle name.
On Monday, during the ongoing monsoon session, Dhankhar addressed her by her full name once again, further irritating the parliamentarian.
“Sir, I hope you know the meaning of Amitabh. I mean, I am proud of the association with my marriage and my husband and of his achievements. But this is a new drama started by you all. This did not use to happen before,” she said.
Another Run-In With Dhankhar In February
In February of this year, Dhankhar’s comments on a Congress leader during an uproar by opposition members over the skipping of a question led to a strong retort from Bachchan. She argued that if the issue had been properly explained, members would have understood, stating that they are “not schoolchildren.” Bachchan also asserted that MPs deserve to be treated with respect.
“If you or the deputy chairman ask us to sit, we will, but we won’t do so when another member gestures at us and tells us to sit. It is our right to question. You tell us you can’t take up a question or that there is a problem and it will be taken up later, we understand, we are not schoolchildren. But treat us respectfully,” she stated.
Bachchan’s ‘I Curse You’ Comment To Another MP
In December 2021, during a discussion on the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, Bachchan had lost her composure in the Rajya Sabha when another MP questioned her about the Enforcement Directorate’s summons to her daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, in the Panama Papers leak case.
Amid the heated exchange, she remarked, “How can they make personal remarks in the House…Aap logon kay buraey din aayengay [Your bad days will come soon], I curse you.”