Upper House of the Indian Parliament Erupts as Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar Clashes with Jaya Bachchan

In the ongoing Budget session in India, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar once again found himself at the center of a heated exchange in the Rajya Sabha. The latest confrontation occurred on Friday, where Dhankhar clashed with Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan after she criticized his tone towards opposition members. The opposition had been demanding an apology from BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari for his “parivarvaad” remark aimed at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on August 1.

Expressing her disapproval, Jaya Bachchan addressed the Chair, saying, “I, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan, want to say, 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 …” Her comments sparked immediate controversy.

Dhankhar, visibly angered, interrupted Bachchan, stating, “Enough of it … You may be anybody, you may be a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum …” He further emphasized the importance of maintaining respect in the House, saying, “Jayaji, you have earned a great reputation. (But) you know the actor is subject to the director… you have not seen what I have seen from here (the Chair). Every day… I don’t want to repeat, I don’t want a schooling. I am a person who has gone out of the way … and you say ‘my tone’?” His frustration was evident as he added, “No… no… enough of this. No. You can’t have it. No…”

The exchange did not end there. When an opposition member questioned Dhankhar’s reference to Bachchan as a celebrity, arguing that she is a senior Member of Parliament, the Vice-President retorted, “(Does) a senior member of Parliament have a license to run down the reputation of the Chair … to question the tone and tenor?” He further declared that he could not allow the House to become an “epicentre of disturbance.”

The incident led to a walkout by the opposition, led by former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who accused Dhankhar of being biased. Meanwhile, the ruling NDA coalition sought a resolution condemning Bachchan’s remarks against Dhankhar. BJP President JP Nadda expressed his disapproval, saying, “Today’s incident is highly condemnable. I urge the House to pass a resolution condemning this. The opposition’s behaviour has been extremely unparliamentary, undisciplined, and disrespectful. The opposition has become issue-less in terms of discussion, and undignified behaviour has become their habit.”

However, Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader of the Opposition Pramod Tiwari dismissed the NDA’s move, viewing it as a badge of honour. He said, “The NDA has brought a censure motion against the opposition. It is a badge of honour for us. We will keep fighting for the poor and common people of this country. This censure motion is an award for the entire opposition. We (opposition) will fight this dictatorship and will struggle against the NDA.”

Tiwari also accused Dhankhar of failing to take action against Ghanshyam Tiwari despite the opposition’s written complaint. He further criticized the Vice-President for allegedly silencing the opposition’s voice in the House. “There are parliamentarians who have an experience of 50 years. However, they are not able to talk and raise the people’s issues as the mic is switched off consistently by the Chairman. Everyone has seen what is being done to Jaya Bachchan. The Chairman does not allow her to speak. She is a veteran and is in Rajya Sabha for the 4th or 5th time,” Tiwari added.

Congress MP Ajay Maken also weighed in, expressing concern over what he described as the Chairman’s partisan approach. “Opposition parties feel the Chairman’s approach is partisan. Rajya Sabha is a House that sets parameters for other legislatures. In that House, the Chairman should not be seen as partisan. The Congress alone does not feel that way, all opposition parties feel his behaviour is partial towards one side,” Maken remarked.

Meanwhile, Jaya Bachchan continued to voice her frustrations, questioning why Kharge was not allowed to speak. “We are not school children, some of us are senior citizens. I was upset with the tone and especially when the leader of the opposition stood up to speak, he had switched off the mic. How can you do this? This is against the tradition. You have to allow the leader,” she told reporters. Bachchan also accused members of the Treasury benches of using unparliamentary language, citing terms like “nuisance” and “Buddhiheen” (stupid).

In response to these events, the opposition is reportedly considering submitting a notice to move a resolution to remove Dhankhar from his office. According to sources, 87 members have signed a proposal to initiate action against the Vice-President.