A week ago, legendary actor and parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan first voiced her dissatisfaction when Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh called her Jaya Amitabh Bachchan.

Actor couple Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan in the film Abhimaan; (right) Samajwadi Party MP Jaya in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, August 5, 2024. (Image: Express Archive, PTI)

It seems that actor-politician Jaya Bachchan is not willing to let go of her objection to being addressed by her husband Amitabh Bachchan’s name in Parliament, as she raised the issue again in the House on Monday.

A week ago, Jaya first voiced her dissatisfaction when Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh called her Jaya Amitabh Bachchan. Irked, the Samajwadi Party MP replied, “Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (Calling me Jaya Bachchan would be enough, sir).”

When Singh mentioned that her name is officially listed as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan,” she expressed her displeasure, saying, “Ye jo hain kuch naya tarika hain ki mahilaayen apni pati ke naam se jaani jaye. Unka koi astitva nahi. Unki koi upalabdhi nahi hain, apne mein aur astitva nahi hain. Ye jo naya shuru hua hain… (Some new method has emerged that women have to be known by their husband’s name. As if women have no identity; they have no achievements, no identity of their own. This is a new thing…)”

On Monday, during the ongoing monsoon session, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed her by her full name. In response, Jaya 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 use to happen before.”

Watch Jaya Bachchan-Jagdeep Dhankhar interaction in Rajya Sabha here:

The Vice-President, meanwhile, informed her that there is a provision to change the name on the election certificate and reminded her that the “entire country is proud” of Amitabh Bachchan’s achievements. He added, “However, Jaya Ji, the name that appears in the election certificate is what is used, and you can get the name changed; there is a provision for that.”

A few days after the incident with Harivansh Narayan Singh, Jaya had made a self-aware joke by introducing herself as “Jaya Amitabh Bachchan” in Rajya Sabha, which made everyone, including Dhankhar, laugh.

Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan tied the knot on June 3, 1973, in a modest ceremony. They have two children: columnist-author Shweta Bachchan Nanda and actor-producer Abhishek Bachchan. Jaya has been a Rajya Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party, representing Uttar Pradesh, since 2004 and is currently serving her fifth term.