New Delhi, Feb 5 (UNI): Both Houses of Parliament will continue discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address on Thursday during the ongoing Budget Session.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to reply to the debate on Wednesday; however, repeated disruptions by Opposition members forced the Speaker to adjourn the House.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Wednesday amid continuous uproar from Opposition MPs protesting the suspension of eight members, compelling the Speaker to halt proceedings multiple times and defer the House’s scheduled business to Thursday. The disruptions began as soon as the House convened, with Opposition members raising slogans and attempting to flag various issues, preventing normal functioning.
Despite Speaker Om Birla’s repeated appeals for order and an attempt to conduct a brief five-minute Question Hour, during which only one starred question and its supplementaries were taken up, the persistent protests led to successive adjournments, first till 12 noon, then 2 pm, and finally 5 pm. As the uproar continued unabated, the House was adjourned for the day, preventing the Prime Minister’s scheduled reply at 5 pm on the motion of thanks.
The protests began when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disallowed from citing an article referring to an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China standoff. Following continued disruptions, eight Opposition MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session on Tuesday. The suspended members include Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose of the Congress, along with CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan.
Outside the Parliament complex, the suspended MPs staged protests holding placards accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “compromised,” echoing Rahul Gandhi’s earlier remarks during media interactions related to the India-US trade agreement. Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria defended Gandhi, stating that he represented “the voice of the people who voted against the BJP,” and accused the ruling party of attempting to silence the Opposition whenever national security issues are raised in Parliament.
In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. A total of 18 hours has been allotted for the discussion.
According to the List of Business, the Lok Sabha is also scheduled to take up discussions on the union Budget 2026–27. BJP MP Suresh Gopi will make a statement on the status of implementation of recommendations of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas relating to the government’s policy on the import of crude oil.
The Budget Session comprises 30 sittings over 65 days and will conclude on April 2. Parliament will adjourn for recess on February 13 and reconvene on March 9 to allow Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments.
