'Your tone is not...': Jaya Bachchan clashes again with RS Chair Dhankar over her name

A heated exchange erupted in the Rajya Sabha between Vice President and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan today during a session marked by significant uproar. Dhankhar accused opposition MPs of disrespecting the Constitution and democracy. When he called Bachchan to speak the House, she questioned his tone, leading to further tension.

Bachchan voiced her objection saying, "I Jaya Amitabh Bachchan would like to say that I am an artist, I understand body language, expressions. I am sorry to say that your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues, you may be sitting on the Chair...."

Chairman Dhankhar responded promptly, asking her to take her seat.


"Jaya ji take your seat. You have earned a great reputation. An actor is a subject to the director. You are not seeing what I see from here. I am a person who has gone out of the way. Enough of this. You may be a celebrity, but you have to understand decorum," Dhankhar said.

Subsequently, Jaya Bachchan walked out of the Parliament along with other opposition MPs, demanding an apology from the Chairman.

“I objected to the tone used by the Chair. We are not schoolchildren. I was upset with the tone and especially when the LoP stood up to speak, his mic was switched off. How can you do this? If he is not going to be heard in the House, then what are we doing? On top of that, every time (they are) using words which are unparliamentary," Jaya Bachchan told reporters after exiting Parliament.

This incident followed a similar exchange earlier in the week when Bachchan contested Dhankhar's use of her full name, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan, calling it a "new drama." She expressed pride in her husband's achievements but emphasized her discomfort with women's identities being tied to their husbands' names.

In addressing Bachchan's concerns, Dhankhar referred to related procedural norms, explaining, "However, Jaya Ji, the name that appears in the election certificate is what is used, and you can get the name changed; there is a provision for that."

This exchange and its repercussions highlight the ongoing dynamics and decorum concerns within the Upper House, shedding light on the challenges of maintaining parliamentary discipline amid political disagreements.