Proceedings in the Lok Sabha were adjourned for the day on Friday after continuous disruptions by opposition members, marking the second consecutive day when the House failed to take up discussion on the Union Budget presented on February 1. The House will now reconvene at 11 a.m. on Monday, February 9.
Adjourning the House, Speaker Om Birla informed members that 19 hours and 13 minutes have been lost due to disruptions during the current Budget Session.
Expressing anguish, the Speaker said Members of Parliament were elected to raise issues and debate, not to shout slogans and stall proceedings. “I want the House to run,” he said, adding that such conduct was not in keeping with parliamentary traditions.
Opposition protests derail Budget debate
The Lok Sabha was first adjourned earlier in the day and reconvened at noon, only to be disrupted again as opposition members trooped into the Well of the House, raising slogans and holding placards. Chairing the proceedings, Krishna Prasad Tenneti repeatedly urged members to return to their seats and put down placards.
As the opposition refused to relent, the House was adjourned till Monday. The repeated adjournments meant that no discussion could take place on the Union Budget for the second straight day, a worrying sign for a session meant to scrutinise the government’s most important financial document.
Speaker’s warning, rising political tensions
Speaker Om Birla later warned opposition members against crossing over to the treasury benches and openly stated that he could not run “such a House”. His remarks reflected growing frustration as disruptions have become routine rather than exceptional.
The government and the opposition remain locked in a sharp standoff over multiple issues. In an unprecedented development, the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on Thursday without the Prime Minister’s customary reply, which was scheduled a day earlier. The reply could not take place due to relentless sloganeering by opposition MPs, raising questions about parliamentary accountability and democratic norms.
Controversies spill outside Parliament
Political tensions further escalated following a sharp exchange of words between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu. The incident snowballed into a controversy, with BJP-led Sikh groups staging protests outside the Congress office later in the day.
Meanwhile, Congress flagged what it termed “procedural irregularities” in the functioning of the Lok Sabha, adding to the charged atmosphere inside the House.
Disruptions since February 2
The Lok Sabha has been witnessing frequent disruptions since Monday, February 2, after Rahul Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting an article based on excerpts from former Army chief M.M. Naravane’s unpublished memoir. The excerpts reportedly referred to the 2020 India-China conflict, which the Chair ruled could not be cited.
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The first phase of the Budget Session will conclude on February 13, after which Parliament will go into recess till March 9. With over 19 hours already lost, pressure is mounting on both the government and the opposition to restore order and allow Parliament to function, or risk reducing the Budget Session to a political spectacle rather than a forum for serious debate.
