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The Lok Sabha had to beryllium adjourned for the time amid precocious play connected Wednesday (February 4, 2026) arsenic women MPs from Opposition parties walked crossed the aisle and held up banners successful beforehand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s beforehand enactment spot up of his customary reply to the Presidential Address. They were protesting a BJP MP’s allegations against erstwhile Congress PMs.
Mr. Modi was not contiguous astatine that clip but BJP MP Sandhya Rai, who was presiding implicit the proceedings arsenic the chairperson, adjourned the House for the day. The Prime Minister had been scheduled to reply to the treatment connected the question thanking President Droupadi Murmu for her code to the associated sitting of Parliament astatine astir 5 p.m.
Parliament Budget Session Day 6: Follow the updates from February 4, 2026
The Congress aboriginal hinted that it would lone let the Prime Minister to talk erstwhile Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was besides permitted to speak.
Physical transcript of ‘unreleased’ memoir
Earlier successful the day, Mr. Gandhi, who had brought a transcript of erstwhile Army main Manoj Mukund Naravane’s “unreleased memoir” to assertion that the Prime Minister had shed work during the India-China struggle successful 2020, had dared Mr. Modi to travel to the House.
“I don’t deliberation the Prime Minister would person the guts to travel to the Lok Sabha today, due to the fact that if helium comes, I volition spell physically and manus him this book,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters successful the Parliament complex, displaying a transcript of the retired general’s memoir, Four Stars of Destiny. On Monday (February 2, 2026), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had prevented Mr. Gandhi from quoting excerpts from the publication connected the grounds that it had not been officially published.
‘Slanderous allegations’
At astir 2 p.m. connected Wednesday (February 4), the House witnessed melodramatic scenes erstwhile BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, participating in the statement connected the Motion of Thanks, work retired from books similar Edwina and Nehru and Mitrokhin Archives connected the level of Lok Sabha to marque slanderous allegations against erstwhile Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Congress members trooped into the Well and charged towards the BJP adjacent arsenic Krishna Prasad Tenneti, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP who was presiding implicit the proceedings, urged Mr. Dubey not to punctuation from immoderate book.
Mr. Tenneti cited Rule 349 — which bars members from speechmaking from immoderate book, paper oregon letter, but successful transportation with the concern of the House — successful a bid to halt Mr. Dubey, but it had small effect. The BJP MP went connected for astir 3 minutes without his microphone being muted.
‘Deliberate disruption’
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking to reporters extracurricular the House, alleged that whenever the authorities wants to disrupt the proceedings, it fields Mr. Dubey.
“You get to talk during Zero Hour done ballot. While we tyre waiting for our accidental to speak, helium gets Zero Hour astir daily. So, erstwhile the authorities wants disruption, helium gets up,” Ms. Vadra said, adding, “A regularisation is cited erstwhile the LoP wants to talk but this maharaj (Mr. Dubey) could amusement arsenic galore arsenic six books. This is an insult to democracy, Parliament and adjacent the Honourable Speaker.”
After the House was adjourned until 5 p.m., Congress members met Mr. Birla successful his chamber, questioning the Chair’s determination to let Mr. Dubey and demanding enactment against him. By precocious evening, the Speaker’s bureau had expunged galore of the objectionable remarks from the House records.
“The LoP’s microphone was switched disconnected successful 30 seconds portion Nishikant Dubey spoke for astir 5 minutes. This is wide treble standards by the government,” said Congress MP K.C. Venugopal. “It seems that the authorities doesn’t privation the Speaker to workout his law powers,” helium added.
Joint strategy
In the evening, floor leaders of the Congress met astatine enactment president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence and decided to formulate a associated strategy with different Opposition parties astatine a gathering connected Thursday morning.
After the meeting, Congress communications main Jairam Ramesh cited a precedent from June 10, 2004, erstwhile the BJP, past successful the Opposition, did not let then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reply to the question of acknowledgment connected the President’s Address. He hinted thatthe existent logjam volition proceed till Mr. Gandhi is allowed to speak.
“The Prime Minister volition talk erstwhile the LoP speaks. If the Opposition person can’t speak, past what’s the constituent of the debate? The PM gives a reply to the debate, but wherever is the debate,” Mr. Ramesh said.
