Jaya Bachchan has once again come out of her hibernation to stir the cauldron of controversy. Infamous for her temper problems and routine outbursts in public space, Jaya, the Samajwadi Party leader recently advised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to go on a pilgrimage during the election campaign in the state.
Accusing the Yogi government of not raising women issues in the parliament, Jaya said, “They only talk about women’s security, but not a single BJP MP raised the issue in Parliament. The UP chief minister cannot understand the pain of women. It is better that he goes on a pilgrimage.”
While Jaya claims to fight for women’s rights, she is the same leader that has kept mum when her party chief openly espoused his misogynistic and sexist views about women. As reported by TFI, in 2014, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav made some truly baffling statements after the gruesome Shakti Mill gang rape case in Mumbai.
The Samajwadi Party chief had remarked, “Ladkon se aisi galtiyan hojaati hain to iska ye matlab nahin ki phaansi de di jaye (Boys do make such mistakes but that does not mean that they should be sent to the gallows).”
Mulayam had then opined that death penalty for rape accused was “unfair”. However, a ‘feminist’ Jaya Bachchan decided to conveniently sidestep the entire conversation by not muttering a single syllable against her party leader.
Moreover, Jaya Bachchan also chose to shut her mouth when her co-actor and fellow MP Jaya Prada was being badgered with sexist and misogynistic comments by her own party leader. When Jaya Prada alleged that her morphed, lewd pictures were being circulated by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Mrs Bachchan preferred to look in the other direction.
Jaya’s meltdown after daughter-in-law gets summoned by ED
More recently, Jaya had a meltdown when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned her daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai over the Panama Papers leak. The Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan went off the deep end in Rajya Sabha and lashed out at the Government by cursing them of ‘bad days’.
During a discussion on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Jaya, pointing towards the treasury benches said, “Aapke bure din bohot jaldi aane vale hain” (your bad days are coming soon). I curse you”.
She went on to call out the Chair for not listening to the opposition: “…aap gala ghont dijie ham sabka (you please strangulate us),”
Read More: Jaya Bachchan overreacts, curses PM Modi over ED’s summon to Aishwarya Rai
Protects Bollywood and its drug culture
Jaya has had an illustrious history of losing her marbles. In September last year, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, the SP MP tore into Ravi Kishan, also a Bhojpuri actor, damning him for criticizing something that provides them with their livelihood. “Jis thaali mein khaate hai, usi mein chhed karte hai”, lambasted Jaya Bachchan in the upper house.
While Jaya is no stranger to controversy, it was sad to see her going out on a limb to defend an industry that has lost its credibility in the years gone by. And when called out for it, Jaya resorted to giving false equivalences.
Jaya and her tantrums in public
Jaya also has a lot of problems with the fans and the paparazzi. In 2019, when a fan tried to photograph her using a mobile phone, a visibly frustrated Jaya turned and scolded the fan by remarking, “Aap mobile pe kyun photo le rahe ho? Poocha mujhse aapne? Tameez seekho,” (why are you taking photos on your phone? Did you ask me? learn some manners).
Similarly, during Subhash Ghai’s birthday party in 2013, one of the photojournalists called Aishwarya as Aish and apparently ticked off Jaya.
She exploded on the journalist and ranted, “Ye Aishwarya kya hota hain huh?, Tumhari class mein padhti thi kya?” (What is this Aishwarya? Did she study in your class?).
In 2014 when the entire Bachchan family had stepped out to cast their votes. “Aise jungli ke tarah behave kar rahe hai! (How are you behaving like wild animals?)” she angrily remarked looking at the photographers. Her son, Abhishek Bachchan had then calmed her down.
All these incidents prove that Jaya has some serious issues when it comes to dealing with people in public. She may have been a decent actor, but she surely is not a good human — for her approach towards women’s issues are ambivalent and because she treats everyone as beneath her. Perhaps, Mrs Bachchan should enrol herself in a Yoga class and try a meditation course. We hear it helps.