SAMAJWADI Party MP Jaya Bachchan was at the centre of another heated exchange with Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar Friday, followed by a walkout by Opposition MPs from the House. It wasn’t the first such exchange between Bachchan and Vice-President Dhankhar, many of which have been seen over this Session alone. Unlike her contemporaries from the film world to have occupied the Upper House, and despite her acting career that continues, Bachchan is an active and vocal parliamentarian. This is one of the reasons the SP nominated her to the Rajya Sabha for a fifth term, which is rare in itself. On Friday, Bachchan stood up to express her “objection” to Dhankhar’s “tone” in reference to his statement over an exchange on July 31 between BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. As Dhankhar kept reiterating that Tiwari was only “praising” Kharge and meant no disrespect, the Opposition accused the Vice-President of siding with Tiwari. Bachchan then said, “I am an artiste. I understand body language and expressions. But your tone is not right. We are your colleagues, but your tone is unacceptable.” An angry Dhankar replied, “I don’t want schooling… You may be anybody. You may be a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum… I do not go by script of others. I have my own script. I am not operated by anyone else.” The Opposition MPs led by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi subsequently staged a walkout. On July 29, Bachchan had got up to object when Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, who was in the Chair, referred to her as ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’. The SP MP replied, “Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte toh kaafi ho jata (Calling me Jaya Bachchan would have been enough, sir).” Singh tried to argue that her name was officially listed as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan”. Bachchan replied: “Ye jo hai kuch naya tarika hai ki mahilaayen apni pati ke naam se jaani jayen. Unka koi astitva nahin. Unki koi uplabddhi nahin hai apne mein, aur astitva nahin hai (This is a new way that women be known by their husband’s name. As if they have no identity of their own, no achievements…).” A few days after the incident, Bachchan consciously introduced herself as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” in the Rajya Sabha, causing everyone, including Dhankhar, to laugh. However, on August 5, when he was in the Chair, Dhankhar went on to refer to the SP MP as ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’. In response, Bachchan said, “Sir, I hope you know the meaning of Amitabh. I mean, I am proud of the association with my marriage and my husband and of his achievements. But this is a new drama started by you all. This did not happen before.” Dhankhar replied that they were using the name that appears in the election certificate. Adding that there was a provision for an MP to change this, he said “the entire country is proud” of Amitabh Bachchan’s achievements. It was in February this year that the SP renominated Bachchan to the Upper House, putting her in the category of one of the party’s top leaders, Ram Gopal Yadav, who became the first from the SP to serve as a member of the Upper House five times. The SP, which has had a long association with the Bachchan family, had good reason to place its faith in the actor-cum-politician. According to the legislative research body PRS, Bachchan, 75, had an attendance of 82% in the Rajya Sabha during her terms between 2009 and 2024. This was 3% points higher than the national average of 79%, and marginally below the average for Uttar Pradesh, the state she represents. Bachchan also has a good record of participation in Rajya Sabha debates. While on an average MPs in the Upper House participated in 199.7 debates, with MPs from UP lower at 193.8, she took part in 292 debates between 2009 and 2024. While she has never introduced a private member’s Bill during the 15-year period, she asked 451 questions during Question Hour, which was lower than the average for all MPs and MPs from UP, at 667.02 and 598.07, respectively. Her attendance has gradually grown as she has spent a longer time in the Upper House. While in the Budget Session of 2010, her attendance was only 13%, it was nil in the first session of 2009. However, in the Monsoon Session of 2023, Bachchan did not miss a single sitting of the Rajya Sabha . In the course of her four Rajya Sabha terms so far, Bachchan has raised issues such as the safety of women and their rights, street children, most polluted cities, politicisation of religion in the country, controversial statements by people in public office, need to criminalise marital rape, suicides and mental health issues, demand to confer Bharat Ratna on Mirza Ghalib, and the need to eliminate creamy-layer consideration in reservation for people of backward classes. She has asked questions on issues such as forest fires, cyber security, linking of major rivers, poor living conditions of retired personnel of the central armed police forces, and illegal occupation of ASI land, among other things. Bachchan found herself in a row during a discussion on the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill in 2021. When some MPs raised questions about the summons sent to her daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the Panama Papers case, she said: “Your bad days will be here soon… I curse you.” She went on to say the Chair was not listening to the Opposition. In September 2020, when the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput was followed by all kinds of allegations about the film industry, Bachchan gave a Zero Hour notice in the House to discuss “the alleged conspiracy” of defamation. In her farewell speech at the end of her last Rajya Sabha term, Bachchan had remarked: “I am frequently asked why I get upset. I am that way by nature; I am not changeable. I lose my temper if I don’t like or agree with something. I apologise if I offended any of you or became personal."
