New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan had an angry outburst in the Rajya Sabha Monday after a member allegedly made a personal remark amid a discussion on the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
She lambasted the Narendra Modi government, saying, “Aapke bure din aayenge (your bad days are coming).. I curse you.”
Bachchan also called the proceedings of the house “terrible” as it was “discussing clerical errors for 3-4 hours but wasn’t ready to discuss the issue of the suspended MPs”, and accused the Chair, presided over by Bhubaneswar Kalita, of not being fair.
The incident took place the same day Bachchan’s daughter-in-law, actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Panama Papers case.
The Rajya Sabha passed the NDPS (Amendment) Bill with a voice vote to rectify a “drafting anomaly” in the legislation. Meanwhile, Opposition members kept trying to bring the debate back to the subject of suspension of MPs.
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A stormy session
The stormy session began with opposition parties protesting against the suspension of 12 opposition MPs (for “misconduct” in the last session) as Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ rose to speak on the bill.
“For six years, the Narcotics Control Bureau was sleeping. It has now been awakened to correct clerical errors. How is discussion possible when a culprit minister is sitting inside and innocent MPs are sitting outside?” said Congress MP Digvijaya Singh.
This was an allegation directed towards Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is in jail as main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which eight people were killed on 3 October.
As Jaya Bachchan rose to speak, she told Kalita: “We want justice. We don’t expect justice from there, but can we expect it from you? How are you protecting the members of this house, or the 12 members sitting outside?”
Kalita then said she was deviating from the subject, and not speaking on the narcotics bill.
Bachchan then said: “There are so many big issues to be discussed, but we are spending 3-4 hours discussing a clerical error. What is going on? This is terrible!”
She then turned to the opposition benches and said: “Aap log kiske aage been baja rahe hain?”
BJP MP Rakesh Sinha then stood up and said Bachchan had made remarks against the Chair, which is against House rules.
The Samajwadi Party leader then said, “Aapke bure din shuru ho gaye hain (your bad days have begun)”, which was followed by chaos in the house.
She then demanded that the Chair take action against a member for making a personal remark against her. “What are you saying? Have the courage to stand up and speak…such nasty remarks!” a livid Bachchan was heard saying to an unidentified member during the session.
‘Stop arrogance of power’
Later, Sushil Gupta from the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the government on Ajay Mishra’s continuation as minister. He asked whether the government is bringing any law to “stop arrogance of power”.
“Youth in Punjab are taking drugs. What has the government done to protect them? A minister’s son crushed farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. It is the arrogance of power. The government is seeking an apology to end suspension of 12 MPs. That is also the arrogance of power,” he added.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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