Sonia Gandhi Leads Walkout After Jaya Bachchan Vs Rajya Sabha Chairman

Opposition parties - led by Congress stalwart Sonia Gandhi - walked out of the Rajya Sabha on Friday afternoon in a powerful show support for Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, after she clashed with Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar over the "tone" of his voice when addressing certain lawmakers.

Earlier today Ms Bachchan had risen in the House to complain about Mr Dhankhar and say that his "tone is not acceptable". A furious Mr Dhankhar cut her short and said Ms Bachchan, a famous actor, "may be a celebrity (but) you have to understand the decorum..." 

"Sir, I, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan (to chuckles from some benches), want to say this... I am an actor. I understand body language and expression (to applause) and, forgive me, but your tone is not acceptable..." Jaya Bachchan had said.

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To this Mr Dhankhar responded, "Jayaji, you have earned a great reputation. (But) you know the actor is subject to the director... I don't want a schooling. "No... no... enough of this..."

Speaking to reporters after today's walk-out, she said, "It was a humiliating experience..." and criticised the treatment of opposition MPs, contrasting it with the latitude given to those from the ruling BJP.

"Whatever is said from the Chair... is allowed. Outside the Chair, the individual is like us.. an MP. I objected to the tone used by the Chair. We are not school children and some of us are even senior citizens. I was upset with the tone... especially when the Leader of the Opposition (Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge) stood up to speak he (the Chair) switched the mike off..." she said.

"And, on top of that, every time words that are unparliamentary are used... like 'nuisance', like 'you may be a celebrity but I don't care'. I am not asking him to care! Nobody has ever spoken the way they do now in Parliament. What is the problem? It is so disrespectful to women," she said firmly.

Ms Bachchan has demanded an apology. "I need an apology from the Chair," she said.

Opposition MPs - led by Sonia Gandhi and the Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien - gathered outside Parliament, flanking Ms Bachchan in a significant statement, and several later spoke on her behalf.

Congress comms chief Jairam Ramesh told reporters opposition MPs had been repeatedly insulted in Parliament and denied a chance to speak. Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out Ms Bachchan has "vast parliamentary experience... more than the Vice President", while her Trinamool Congress colleague, Dola Sen, said Ms Bachchan is a four-time MP and deserves respect.

BJP Slams Opposition Over Walk-Out

Opposition MPs' walk-out triggered a furious reaction from BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP JP Nadda, who called the protest "indecent and irresponsible" behaviour. "The opposition wants to weaken the country (and should) apologise," he declared in the (by now largely empty) House.

"It is clear that their standards have fallen in politics... from opposing a party and individual, now they are opposing the country. They want to divide the country," he claimed.

Mr Nadda wasn't the only BJP leader to hit out at the opposition. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared "I have never seen such unruly, indecent behavior of the opposition".

"Today the mind is distressed...filled with pain. This is not only an insult to the Chair, it is an insult to the democratic values ​​of the country. It is an insult to democracy... it is an insult to the Constitution."

"Today it has been proved that the irresponsible opposition is trying to push the country into anarchy. The opposition should apologise.. has shamed the House and country," he claimed.

'Jaya Amitabh Bachchan' Row

Ms Bachchan and Mr Dhankhar have exchanged heated words earlier in this Parliament session too - over the latter's introduction of her (in the House) as 'Jaya Amitabh Bachchan'.

Ms Bachchan expressed her strong disapproval of this practice.

On Monday too Ms Bachchan had objected to Mr Dhankhar, saying, "Sir, only Jaya Bachchan would have sufficed", and stressing her unease about women being identified only by their husband's names as if "they don't have their own identity".

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Ms Bachchan had then criticised the "new drama started by you all (referring to her political rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party)". "This did not happen before," she said.

READ | After Outburst Over "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan", Actor's Fun Turn

Last month she corrected Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh.

WATCH | Jaya Bachchan Irked After Being Addressed As 'Jaya Amitabh Bachchan'

"Shrimati Jaya Amitabh Bachchanji, please," he had said, inviting her to speak. "Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (It would've been enough to call me Jaya Bachchan)," she said, adding,"... women will be recognised by the names of their husbands. They have no existence or achievements of their own" when told that was the name registered in Parliament records.

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