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Opposition walks out of Rajya Sabha objecting ‘tone’ of VP Jagdeep Dhankhar

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan demands apology from VP

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar conducts proceedings of the House during Monsoon session of Parliament | PTI

Opposition MPs staged a walk out from Rajya Sabha condemning the tone of Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar in the House and for turning off mic of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge while he rose to speak.

Led by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, the opposition staged a walkout condemning Dhankar. Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, who got into an argument with the VP earlier this week for addressing her as 'Jaya Amitabh Bachchan', demanded an apology from Dhankar.

“I objected to the tone used by the Chair. We are not school children. Some of us are senior citizens. I was upset with the tone and especially when the Leader of Opposition stood up to speak, he switched off the mic. How can you do this? You have to allow the Leader of Opposition to speak,” ANI reported quoting Jaya Bachchan.

The Samajwadi Party leader charged Dhankar used unparliamentary words in the House. “’You are a nuisance, Buddhiheen'. He said ‘You may be a celebrity, I do not care’. I am not asking him to care. I am saying I am an MP, this is my fifth term. I know what I am saying. The way things are being spoken in Parliament these days, nobody has ever spoken before. I want an apology,” she demanded.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said the chairman disrespected the leader of opposition and a constitutional post has been demeaned.