Jaya Bachchan vs Dhankhar: RS chairman partisan, says Congress

The strained relations between Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and INDIA bloc parties reached breaking point on Friday, as the Congress accused the chair of acting in a "partisan" manner against the entire Opposition.

Shortly after the Opposition walked out of the Rajya Sabha in protest over what they described as the "unacceptable disrespect” shown by Dhankhar, the Congress addressed a press conference at Vijay Chowk to assert that the chairman of the Upper House was not giving the Opposition the significance it deserves in the Upper House.

"The Opposition parties believe that the chairman's approach is biased. The Rajya Sabha is a chamber that sets benchmarks for other legislatures. In such a House, the chairman must not appear partisan. It's not just the Congress that feels this way; all Opposition parties share the sentiment that his conduct is skewed towards one side," Congress leader Ajay Maken said at the press conference.

Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari claimed that leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge is often not allowed to speak, frequently interrupted, and his microphone is repeatedly turned off.

"This isn't about a single party. A few days ago, Ghanshyam Tiwari used derogatory language towards the leader of the Opposition, which was insulting and unacceptable. We submitted a notice for a privilege motion and sought a ruling, but no written ruling has been provided," Tiwari said.

"As an artist, I understand body language and expressions...but, sir, with all due respect, your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues, sir, even though you are in the chair," Bachchan said. Dhankhar retorted, "Jaya ji, you have earned a great reputation. You know that an actor is subject to the director. You haven't seen what I see from here. I don't need schooling. I have gone out of my way, and yet you criticise my tone... this is enough."

Following the walkout, Bachchan told reporters that she took issue with the Chair's tone. "We are not schoolchildren. I was disturbed by the tone, particularly when the LoP stood up to speak, and his mic was turned off. How can this happen? If the leader of the Opposition is not allowed to speak in the House, what is our purpose here? Moreover, unparliamentary language is being used repeatedly," she said.

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned multiple times in the post-lunch session, having witnessed an uproar in the morning session when Opposition and treasury benches indulged in verbal duels over various issues.

Earlier, the Dhankhar-Bachchan face-off saw the Samajwadi Party MP tell the chair, “I have a lot of regard for the deputy chairperson. We have not said anything against him. This is my request to you: if you or the deputy chairperson asks us to, we will sit down. But if any other members shake their hands and ask us to sit, we will not. It is our right to question. You tell us 'we can't take this question right now, there are problems and we will take it later', and we will understand. We are not schoolchildren, but treat us respectfully.”

 As soon as the House resumed at 2.00 pm, deputy chairman Harivansh adjourned the house for half-an-hour without citing any reason. He again adjourned the House until 3.00 pm when it reassembled at 2.30 pm. Again, when the Upper House reassembled at 3.00 pm, Harivansh adjourned it until 3.30 pm.