9 August, New Delhi: Leading opposition parties, including the Congress icon Sonia Gandhi, forcefully left the Rajya Sabha on Friday afternoon in support of Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, who was protesting the Upper House’s repetition of the “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” controversy.
Jaya Bachchan with Sonia Gandhi
Ms. Bachchan, a well-known actor who is married to fellow movie star Amitabh Bachchan, has been introduced as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” twice in this legislative session.
Ms. Bachchan has stated how much she dislikes this behavior.
After today’s walkout, Jaya criticized the treatment for opposition MPs, comparing it to the tolerance shown to those from the ruling BJP, and told reporters, “It was a humiliating experience…”
“Anything stated by the Chairperson is permitted. Outside the Chair, the person is an MP just like the rest of us. I had an issue with the Chair’s tone. Some of us are even elderly citizens; we are not schoolchildren. When Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition, stepped up to speak, the Chair turned off the microphone, which infuriated her.
When the “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” call was repeated this afternoon, Ms. Bachchan objected once more. Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, however, retorted, saying, “Don’t school me.”
However, Ms. Bachchan remained steadfast and insisted on an apology. She remarked, “I need an apology from the Chair,” as opposition MPs began to leave and demonstrations against Mr. Dhankhar grew more intense.
Following Ms. Bachchan’s announcement, opposition MPs, led by Sonia Gandhi and Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, assembled outside Parliament. Several of them later spoke on her behalf.
Opposition MPs had been continuously humiliated in Parliament and refused the opportunity to speak, Congress Communications Chief Jairam Ramesh told reporters. Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) emphasized that Bachchan possesses “vast parliamentary experience… more than the Vice President”.
Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader JP Nadda expressed his indignation over the opposition MPs’ walkout, labelling it “indecent and irresponsible” actions. “The opposition wants to weaken the country,” he said in the (by now mostly) empty House.
“It is evident that their political standards have declined; instead of standing against a party or a certain candidate, they are now against the nation. They’re trying to split up the nation,” he said.
Not just Mr. Nadda, but other BJP leaders also took aim at the opposition. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Declared “I have never seen such unruly, indecent behavior of the opposition.”