Proceedings in the Lok Sabha continued to be stalled on Friday with Opposition MPs carrying on with their protests at the commencement of discussions on the Union Budget 2026-27.
Despite repeated reprimands from Speaker Om Birla, 19 hours and 13 minutes had already been lost during the Budget Session due to disruptions, sloganeering persisted
Budget discussions are scheduled to continue from Monday, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expected to reply on February 11.
However, after the rather “unprecedented” development this week when the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address without the customary reply from the Prime Minister, sources suggest the Opposition, led by the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, may continue protests issues such as the recent India-US trade agreement, claims related to the China standoff mentioned in former Army Chief M.M. Naravane’s memoir, and the suspension of eight Opposition MPs.
On Friday also, Opposition MPs staged a protest at Parliament’s Makar Dwar against the India-US trade agreement, displaying banners that described it as a “trap deal” and raising slogans such as “tanashahi nahi chalegi.”
Observers say exchanges between the government and the Treasury Benches mark a new low in parliamentary discourse and signal further deterioration of working relationship between the two sides. Therefore, unless some common ground can be worked out, such scenes are expected to continue. While partial functioning is sufficient for the Budget to be passed, productivity of the session will depend on the Speaker’s ability to maintain order and the Opposition’s willingness to relent, which currently appears unlikely.
The week witnessed an unprecedented development when the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address without the customary reply from the Prime Minister. The motion was passed by voice vote amid loud protests, marking the first such instance since 2004 when the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was unable to deliver his reply amid protests by the BJP.
Tensions have further escalated following the PM’s sharp attack on the Opposition, particularly the Congress, during his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. He also criticised the past and present Congress leadership, terming Gandhi’s “traitor” remark against BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu an insult to the Sikh community and an example of the party’s “arrogance.”
While the PM accused the Congress of “insulting” the President by disrupting the debate on her address, the Congress, in turn, accused him of lacking the courage to answer questions raised by the Opposition and of deliberately undermining democratic functioning in Parliament.