The Opposition walked out of the Upper House of Parliament on Friday following a stand-off with Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for a second day after an exchange of words with Samajwadi Party lawmaker Jaya Bachchan.
Congress lawmakers earlier sought a ruling on their complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Ghansyam Tiwari for his remarks against Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. Dhankhar said the issue was resolved after the two leaders met in his chambers. He added Tiwari even “praised” Kharge for his speech.
Kharge and the Congress demanded a clarification in the House, which triggered a heated exchange between the chair and the opposition. Dhankhar took exception to Bachchan’s statement about his tone. An upset Dhankhar then snapped at Bachchan and said her behaviour was “unacceptable”.
Bachchan told Dhankhar she is an artist and understands body language and expressions. “But your tone is not right. We are your colleagues, but your tone is....,” she said. Dhankhar retorted that Bachchan should understand the importance of maintaining decorum even if she is a celebrity.
“Jayaji you have earned a great reputation. You know an actor is subject to the director. But every day, I do not want to repeat myself. Every day, I do not want to do schooling. You are talking about my tone? Enough of it. You may be anybody. You have to understand the decorum. You may be a celebrity but accept decorum,” Dhankhar said as the Opposition staged a walkout.
{{/usCountry}}“Jayaji you have earned a great reputation. You know an actor is subject to the director. But every day, I do not want to repeat myself. Every day, I do not want to do schooling. You are talking about my tone? Enough of it. You may be anybody. You have to understand the decorum. You may be a celebrity but accept decorum,” Dhankhar said as the Opposition staged a walkout.
{{/usCountry}}Dhankhar reiterated the Opposition insulted the chair and tarnished democracy. He said an attempt was being made to set a narrative against the country, its democratic institutions, and functions.
House leader JP Nadda moved a resolution condemning the Opposition’s behaviour. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, whose Janata Dal (Secular) is an ally of the BJP, condemned the incident
Speaking outside Parliament, Bachchan said she objected to the chair’s tone. “We are not schoolchildren. Some of us are senior citizens. I was upset with the tone and especially when the Leader of Opposition [Kharge] stood up to speak, he switched off the mike.”
She questioned how could he do that. “You have to allow the Leader of the Opposition to speak...I mean using unparliamentary words every time which I do not want to say... He said ‘you may be a celebrity, I do not care’. I am not asking him to care. I am saying I am a member of Parliament. This is my fifth term. I know what I am saying. The way things are being spoken in Parliament these days, nobody has ever spoken before. I want an apology...”