Dhankhar-Jaya face-off: Scindia says Opposition must apologise to Vice President

Gwalior: Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday demanded that the Opposition apologise to Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, referring to a spat between the chair and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan.

Dhankhar and Jaya Bachchan on Friday locked horns after the actor-politician accused him of speaking to her in the Upper House in an unacceptable tone inviting an angry retort that he can't be schooled. The vice president also said even a celebrity has to follow the House decorum.

The Opposition had then walked out calling the matter “disrespect to democracy and Constitution”.

Responding to a question here about the face-off, Scindia said the way the Rajya Sabha chairman has been treated is very sad.

“He is not only the Speaker of the House but also the Vice President of the country. Every person in the Opposition should apologise for this behaviour. This is not an insult of the Speaker of the House and Vice President but of the Constitution and our tricolour,” he said.

Scindia said that the people of the country understand everything about the noise and insults in the House.

The public taught them a lesson in 2014, 2019 and now in 2024, and will teach them in the coming times too, he said.

The angry exchange hours before the Upper House was adjourned sine die on Friday added to the strain between Dhankhar and the INDIA bloc parties, with sources saying the Opposition is considering submitting a notice for moving a resolution to remove the Vice President from his office.

Regarding the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’ ahead of Independence Day, the Union minister called it the biggest campaign of democracy, where every citizen of India will hoist the tricolour at home.

He said 1.64 lakh post offices of the postal department are working hard to deliver the tricolour across the country.