War of Words Between Jaya Bachchan and Jagdeep Dhankhar over 'Tone'

Opposition leaders walked out of the parliament over VP's tone, he says Constitution is disrespected.

Jaya Bachchan Demands Apology from Jagdeep Dhankhar Over Tone in Rajya Sabha

(Photo: The Quint/Zijah Sherwani)

Opposition parties led by Congress' Sonia Gandhi staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on 9 August after a heated exchange between Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. Jaya Bachchan confronted Vice President Dhankhar about his tone, to which the Chairman responded by saying, "You may be a celebrity, but decorum must be maintained."

Let's get into the details.

On 29 July, altercations began when Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh referred to Jaya Bachchan by her husband's name. The actor-politician was offended by this and strongly objected to "being identified with her husband's name." She firmly stated, "Sir, only Jaya Bachchan would have sufficed," in her objection.

Then again, on 3 August, Jaya Bachchan introduced herself with a laugh, saying, “Sir, main Jaya Amitabh Bachchan apse puchti hun... (Sir, I Jaya Amitabh Bachchan would like to ask you),” sending the entire House, including Dhankhar, into a burst of laughter.

Now back to 9 August— a backdrop of what led to the clash of words between Jaya Bachchan and Jagdeep Dhankhar.

A heated exchange was ongoing in the House with the Chairman over BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari's remarks against Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. Congress MPs were demanding an apology from Tiwari for his remarks made on 1 August.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar insisted that the BJP member had actually praised Mr. Kharge in Sanskrit, adding that "people don't apologize when they praise." Ghanshyam Tiwari had commented on Kharge's family, using the word "parivarvaad".

When it was Jaya Bachchan's turn to speak, Dhankhar referred to her as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan. She objected to the "unacceptable" tone used by Dhankhar and demanded an apology from him.

I am an artist. I understand body language and expressions. But your tone is not right. We are your colleagues, and your tone is unacceptable

Jaya Bachchan, MP, Samajwadi Party

This did not sit well with the Vice President, who responded, "You are talking about my tone? Enough of it. You may be anybody, you may be a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum."

Before walking out of the Parliament, opposition members raised slogans of "Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi".

Later, speaking to the media, Jaya Bachchan said she mentioned Jagdeep Dhankhar's tone because he did not let Mallikarjun Kharge speak and switched off his mic. She added, "We are all colleagues, senior MPs, and not school children, so we should all be treated equally." She further demanded an apology from the Rajya Sabha Chairman.