August 9th 2024.
In a heated exchange on Friday, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan clashed over the former's alleged "tone" while giving her the floor to speak. The disagreement escalated to the point where opposition parties staged a walkout.
Bachchan, a member of the Samajwadi Party, expressed her displeasure with the Chairman's tone and the decision to switch off the microphone of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge when he stood up to speak. Speaking to reporters in the parliament complex, Bachchan stated that she was upset with the way the Chairman addressed her, and also the way Kharge's microphone was turned off.
The issue arose when Bachchan wanted to make a point during a heated discussion between opposition parties and the Chairman over remarks made by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari about Kharge a few days ago. Dhankhar allowed her to speak, saying, "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan, please make your point."
However, Bachchan was quick to raise her concerns, stating, "I, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan, want to say that I am an artist. I understand body language and expressions. Forgive me, but your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues, Sir. You may be sitting in the Chair, and I remember when I went to school..." Before she could finish, a visibly angry Dhankhar interrupted her, saying, "Enough of it."
The Chairman went on to assert that everyone, regardless of their status, must follow decorum in the House. "You may be anybody, you may be a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum. Never carry an impression that only you build reputations. We live up to reputations, nothing doing," he stated firmly.
When an opposition party member objected to how Dhankhar referred to Bachchan as a celebrity when she was a senior Member of Parliament, the Chairman retorted, "A senior Member of Parliament has a license to run down the reputation of the Chair? To question the tone and tenor?"
He further clarified that he holds the highest respect for all members, as Kharge tried to make a point. However, Dhankhar also made it clear that he cannot allow the House to become an "epicenter of disturbance."
Speaking to reporters in the parliament complex, Bachchan reiterated her objection to the Chairman's tone. "We are not school children, some of us are senior citizens. I was upset with the tone, and especially when the Leader of Opposition stood up to speak, his microphone was switched off. How can you do that? It goes against tradition. You have to allow the leader," she stated.
Bachchan also accused members sitting in the Treasury benches of using unparliamentary language, stating, "Words like 'You are a nuisance', 'Budhiheen' are spoken by members of the Treasury benches as well."
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