'Tone not acceptable': Jaya Bachchan, Dhankhar face off in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Jaya Bachchan on Friday locked horns after the actor-politician accused him of speaking to her in the House in an “unacceptable” tone inviting an angry retort that he can't be schooled. He also said even a celebrity has to follow decorum.

The angry exchanges hours before the Upper House was adjourned sine die added to the strains 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. The Vice President is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Opposition sources said the timing of the notice is to be discussed and though the resolution may not go through it would be a statement to highlight the Chair's alleged "blatantly and consistently partisan" approach.

The sparks for the fresh face-off flew when Bachchan objected to the "tone" in which Dhankhar addressed her as well as to switching off the mike of Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

An angry Dhankhar responded to say he can't be "schooled" and that Bachchan "may be anybody... a celebrity" but she has to observe decorum.

As Dhankhar refused to allow her or any one from the opposition benches to speak, INDIA bloc parties staged a walk out, which was slammed both by the Chair and the treasury benches. Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders also joined the walk out.

Leader of the House and Union Minister J P Nadda called the opposition behaviour "highly indecent and irresponsible".

The house proceedings were already tense when Congress MPs sought an apology from BJP member Ghanshyam Tiwari for comments he had made on Kharge last week.

Dhankhar insisted that the matter on an issue spoken in the House had been resolved in his chamber. He went on to state that Tiwari had instead praised the Leader of the Opposition to the position of god. But he did not accede to the request by the opposition MPs for either Tiwari repeating his words or Kharge being allowed to speak on the issue.

This led to protests from opposition benches.

Bachchan indicated that she too wanted to speak on the issue and Dhankhar allowed her to make her point, calling her "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan".

She then rose to say “Main Jaya Amitabh Bachchan kalakar hoon, body language samajhti hoon, expression samajhti hoon... par sir, mujhe maaf kariega magar apka tone jo hai is not acceptable. (I Jaya Amitabh Bachchan am an actor. I understand body language and expression. Please forgive me but sir your tone is unacceptable). We are colleagues sir, you may be sitting on the Chair."

Dhankhar shot back, saying he does not want to be schooled, and said, "Enough of it".

"Jaya ji, you've earned a great reputation. You know, an actor is subject to the director. You've not seen what I see from here... I don't want to be schooled. I am a person who has gone out of the way, and you say my tone..."

As opposition MPs objected, he said, "enough of it... no."

"You may be anybody, you may be a celebrity, (but) you have to understand the decorum. Nothing doing," he told Bachchan.

The comments infuriated the opposition MPs who began shouting slogans.

To this, Dhankar said, "never carry this impression that only you build reputations. We come here to build reputations. We live up to reputations."

As TMC's Sushmita Dev objected to the remarks, saying Bachchan was an MP and not a celebrity in the House, Dhankhar shot back. saying, "a senior member of the Parliament has no licence to run down the reputation of the Chair, to question tone and tenor."

"Yes, I had to be in reaction mode to take care of the situation. I have the highest respect but to make it a habit... my tone, my language, my temper. I don't go by script of others. I have my own script. I am not operated by anyone else," he said, ordering nothing that the opposition MPs speak will go on record.

As the opposition MPs said they are staging a walkout in protest, Dhankhar remarked, "I know you are wanting to destabilise the entire nation. You are out to create chaos in the House."

"I shall not be party to this House being converted as epicentre of disturbance," he told Kharge. "You are determined to have your way at the cost of Constitution. It is lack of decorum, disrespect to democracy, disrespect to constitution."

After the walk out, Bachchan, flanked by Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders, told reporters that she objected to the tone used by the Chair.

"We are not school children. I was upset with the tone and especially when the LoP stood up to speak, his mike 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," she said.

Opposition sources said 87 members have signed on the proposal to initiate action against Dhankhar.

According to Article 67(b) of the Constitution, "Vice-President may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of the People; but no resolution for the purpose of this clause shall be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution."

The opposition wants the House to be run by rules and convention and personal remarks against members are unacceptable, the sources said.

The Congress accused the Chair of acting in a "partisan" manner against the entire opposition.

It also held a press conference to claim that the Chair was not giving the opposition the importance it deserves in the Upper House.

"Opposition parties feel that 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 partisan. The Congress alone does not feel that way, all opposition parties feel his behaviour is partial towards one side," Congress leader Ajay Maken said.

Responding to a question on their next move, Maken said, "All options are open, whatever is legal and in the rule book, whatever is in the Constitution, within the procedure of conduct, whatever provisions are there in the law, all options are open for us, we cannot remain mute spectators while democracy is being murdered."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, said that every MP must adhere to parliamentary rules and conventions, and the Chair's authority should not be challenged.