The Lok Sabha had to be adjourned for the day amid high drama on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) as women MPs from Opposition parties walked across the aisle and held up banners in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s front row seat ahead of his customary reply to the Presidential Address. They were protesting a BJP MP’s allegations against former Congress PMs.
Mr. Modi was not present at that time but BJP MP Sandhya Rai, who was presiding over the proceedings as the chairperson, adjourned the House for the day. The Prime Minister had been scheduled to reply to the discussion on the motion thanking President Droupadi Murmu for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament at around 5 p.m.
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The Congress later hinted that it would only allow the Prime Minister to speak when Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was also permitted to speak.
Physical copy of ‘unreleased’ memoir
Earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi, who had brought a copy of former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane’s “unreleased memoir” to claim that the Prime Minister had shed responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020, had dared Mr. Modi to come to the House.
“I don’t think the Prime Minister would have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today, because if he comes, I will go physically and hand him this book,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters in the Parliament complex, displaying a copy 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 book on the grounds that it had not been officially published.
‘Slanderous allegations’
At around 2 p.m. on Wednesday (February 4), the House witnessed dramatic scenes when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks, read out from books like Edwina and Nehru and Mitrokhin Archives on the floor of Lok Sabha to make slanderous allegations against former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Congress members trooped into the Well and charged towards the BJP even as Krishna Prasad Tenneti, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP who was presiding over the proceedings, urged Mr. Dubey not to quote from any book.
Mr. Tenneti cited Rule 349 — which bars members from reading from any book, newspaper or letter, except in connection with the business of the House — in a bid to stop Mr. Dubey, but it had little effect. The BJP MP went on for nearly three minutes without his microphone being muted.
‘Deliberate disruption’
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking to reporters outside the House, alleged that whenever the government wants to disrupt the proceedings, it fields Mr. Dubey.
“You get to speak during Zero Hour through ballot. While we tire waiting for our chance to speak, he gets Zero Hour almost daily. So, when the government wants disruption, he gets up,” Ms. Vadra said, adding, “A rule is cited when the LoP wants to speak but this maharaj (Mr. Dubey) could show as many as six books. This is an insult to democracy, Parliament and even the Honourable Speaker.”
After the House was adjourned until 5 p.m., Congress members met Mr. Birla in his chamber, questioning the Chair’s decision to allow Mr. Dubey and demanding action against him. By late evening, the Speaker’s office had expunged many of the objectionable remarks from the House records.
“The LoP’s microphone was switched off in 30 seconds while Nishikant Dubey spoke for nearly five minutes. This is clear double standards by the government,” said Congress MP K.C. Venugopal. “It seems that the government doesn’t want the Speaker to exercise his constitutional powers,” he added.
Joint strategy
In the evening, floor leaders of the Congress met at party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence and decided to formulate a joint strategy with other Opposition parties at a meeting on Thursday morning.
After the meeting, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh cited a precedent from June 10, 2004, when the BJP, then in the Opposition, did not allow then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s Address. He hinted thatthe current logjam will continue till Mr. Gandhi is allowed to speak.
“The Prime Minister will speak when the LoP speaks. If the Opposition leader can’t speak, then what’s the point of the debate? The PM gives a reply to the debate, but where is the debate,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Published – February 04, 2026 11:10 pm IST
