In a recent heated exchange during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, actor-politician and Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bachchan had a tense interaction with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in Rajya Sabha. This incident marked the second time during this session that their interactions have captured attention.
The friction began when Jaya Bachchan objected to the tone used by Chairman Dhankhar during discussions in the Upper House. Jaya Bachchan's objections stemmed from Jagdeep Dhankhar's response to a previous exchange on July 31 between BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
During the ensuing chaos, Jaya Bachchan addressed the Chair, expressing her dissatisfaction with his tone. She stated, “I am an artist. I understand body language and expressions. But your tone is not right. We are your colleagues, but your tone is unacceptable.”
Dhankhar responded firmly, saying, “I don’t want schooling… You may be anybody. You may be a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum… Does a senior MP have the license to run down the reputation of the Chair?”
The situation further escalated as the Opposition, led by Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi, staged a walkout in protest. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Bachchan reiterated her objection to the Chair's tone, emphasising that MPs are not schoolchildren and should be treated with respect. She also criticised the frequent use of what she described as "unparliamentary" language in the House.
This incident followed an earlier exchange on Monday, where Bachchan had clashed with Dhankhar over the inclusion of her husband Amitabh Bachchan's name when she was called upon by the Chair. She had expressed her pride in her husband but criticised what she called a "new drama" in Parliament. Dhankhar had clarified that the Chair uses the name listed on the election certificate and advised her to change it if she wished.
This was not the first time Jaya Bachchan had raised this issue. On July 29, during House proceedings, she objected when Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh referred to her as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan." She pointedly remarked that "only Jaya Bachchan would have sufficed," stressing the issue of women being identified primarily by their husband's names.
However, in a turn of events on August 2, Jaya Bachchan herself introduced her name as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan" on the floor of the House. This self-introduction prompted a reaction from Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, who burst into laughter, indicating the complexity and sometimes contradictory nature of the debate over women's identity in Parliament.
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