On Monday, Jaya Bachchan objected, stating that “only Jaya Bachchan would have sufficed,” expressing her discomfort with women being identified solely by their husband’s names.
On Friday afternoon, opposition parties, led by Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi, staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha in a strong show of support for Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, who was protesting the repeated use of ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ in the Upper House.
During this Parliamentary session, Ms. Bachchan, a renowned actor and wife of cinematic legend Amitabh Bachchan, has twice been introduced as ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ in Parliament, a practice she has strongly disapproved of.
After today’s walkout, Jaya Bachchan spoke to reporters, describing the incident as “a humiliating experience” and criticizing the treatment of opposition MPs, particularly in contrast to the leniency shown to those from the ruling BJP.
She expressed her objection to the tone used by the Rajya Sabha Chair, stating, “Whatever is said from the Chair is allowed, but outside of it, the individual is just like us—an MP. I objected to the tone because we are not school children, and some of us are even senior citizens. I was especially upset when the Leader of the Opposition (Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge) stood up to speak, and the Chair switched off the microphone.”
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Ms. Bachchan also condemned the use of derogatory language in Parliament, such as “nuisance” and “you may be a celebrity, but I don’t care.” She emphasized, “I am not asking him to care! Nobody has ever spoken like this in Parliament before. What is the problem? It is so disrespectful to women.”
Earlier in the afternoon, when faced again with the ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ introduction, Ms. Bachchan objected once more. However, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar responded with, “Don’t school me.” Despite this, Ms. Bachchan remained resolute, demanding an apology from the Chair. “I need an apology from the Chair,” she insisted as protests against Mr. Dhankhar escalated, leading to the opposition’s walkout
Opposition MPs, led by Sonia Gandhi and the Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, gathered outside Parliament in a show of solidarity with Ms. Bachchan. Several spoke on her behalf, with Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh highlighting the repeated insults faced by opposition MPs in Parliament and their lack of opportunities to speak. Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi noted that Ms. Bachchan has “vast parliamentary experience, more than the Vice President,” while Trinamool Congress’ Dola Sen emphasized that Ms. Bachchan is a four-time MP who deserves respect.
The opposition MPs’ walkout sparked a heated response from BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP JP Nadda, who condemned the protest as “indecent and irresponsible.” He declared in the now mostly empty House, “The opposition wants to weaken the country and should apologize.”
Nadda accused the opposition of lowering political standards, stating, “From opposing a party and an individual, they are now opposing the country. They want to divide the nation.”
He wasn’t the only BJP leader to criticize the opposition. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his dismay, saying, “I have never seen such unruly, indecent behavior from the opposition.”
Chouhan added, “Today, my mind is distressed and filled with pain. This is not only an insult to the Chair but also to the democratic values of the country. It is an insult to democracy and the Constitution. The irresponsible opposition is trying to push the country into anarchy and should apologize for shaming the House and the nation.”
In response to the uproar, Mr. Dhankhar later adjourned proceedings until 2 PM.
This incident follows Jaya Bachchan’s objection on Monday to being addressed by her husband’s name. She had stated, “Sir, only Jaya Bachchan would have sufficed,” expressing her discomfort with women being identified solely by their husbands’ names, as if “they don’t have their own identity.”
Previously, Bachchan had criticized what she termed a “new drama” initiated by her political rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party, noting that this had not occurred before.
Last month, she also corrected Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh when he addressed her as “Shrimati Jaya Amitabh Bachchanji.” She responded, “Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (It would have been enough to call me Jaya Bachchan),” emphasizing that women should not be defined solely by their husbands’ names, as they have their own identities and achievements.