'You may be celebrity, but...': VP Dhankhar tells Jaya Bachchan

Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan went head-to-head in Parliament on Friday after Jaya Bachchan said that Dhankhar's 'tone is not acceptable'.

A furious Mr Dhankhar hit back sharply, declaring 'I don't want a schooling!' and told Bachchan, "You may be a celebrity but, you have to understand the decorum..." 

In support of Jaya Bachchan, opposition parties staged another walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Jaya Bachchan took this step in response to the Upper House's ongoing revival of the 'Jaya Amitabh Bachchan' dispute.

In an apparent jab at a previous incident with Mr. Dhankhar that led to acrimonious exchanges earlier this week, Ms. Bachchan had introduced herself as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan" before beginning her speech (before being repeatedly interrupted by the man and instructed to "take your seat").

"Sir, I, Jaya Amitabh Bachchan (to chuckles from some benches), want to say this... I am an actor. I understand body language and expression (to applause) and, forgive me, but your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues, sir... you may be sitting in the Chair but I remember when I went to school..." she said before Mr Dhankhar waved his hands and told her to sit down.

"Jayaji, take your seat... take your seat..." Mr Dhankhar said repeatedly as the noise level went up in a Rajya Sabha chamber that, new though it may be, has seen many heated battles.

"Honourable members... Honourable members..." Mr Dhankhar continued, waving restraint at the other side of the House, "Please sit... please sit. I know how to deal with it."

The Chair then turned to Ms Bachchan and began his counter.

"Jayaji, you have earned a great reputation. (But) you know the actor is subject to the director... you have not seen what I have seen from here (the Chair). Every day... I don't want to repeat, I don't want a schooling. I am a person who has gone out of the way ... and you say 'my tone'?"

"No... no... enough of this. No. You can't have it. No..." the Rajya Sabha Chair shouted firmly.

"You may be anybody... you may be a celebrity (but) you have to understand the decorum," a by-now furious Mr Dhankhar declared, waving away further protests from both sides of the House.

"Nothing doing... no. Not at all... I will not hear it," Mr Dhankar concluded.