Lok Sabha adjourned amid continued Opposition uproar over Nishikant remarks

Proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned for the day on Wednesday amid sustained disruptions by parties over multiple issues, including the controversy surrounding references to an unpublished memoir of former Army chief M. M. Naravane.

The adjournment came soon after the House reassembled at 5 pm, even as there were indications that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might respond to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address later in the evening.

As BJP member P. P. Chaudhury rose to speak on the motion, opposition MPs raised slogans, displayed placards and moved into the Well of the House. Sandhya Rai, who was chairing the proceedings, adjourned the House within minutes amid the din.

Earlier in the day, the House had been adjourned till 5 pm following an uproar over remarks by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that targeted the Gandhi family. When the House reassembled at 2 pm, TDP MP Harish Balayogi resumed his speech on the Motion of Thanks. After his address, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was then in the Chair, called Dubey to speak.

Dubey said while Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi wanted to quote from an unpublished book, he had brought a series of books to “expose” the Gandhi family. As he began listing titles and their contents, Tenneti intervened, citing an earlier ruling of the Speaker disallowing such remarks.

Invoking Rule 349, which bars members from reading from books, newspapers or letters except in connection with the business of the House, Tenneti said the comments could not be permitted. As Dubey continued and opposition members protested loudly, the Chair adjourned the House till 5 pm.

Following the adjournment, Congress MPs met Speaker Om Birla to protest against the decision to allow remarks targeting the Gandhi family. Outside the Parliament complex, Congress members also staged a demonstration demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak on the President’s Address.

Earlier, proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members created a ruckus over issues linked to the unpublished “memoir” of former Army chief Naravane and the 2020 India-China stand-off. When the House reassembled at noon, opposition MPs were on their feet raising slogans against the government.

Amid the uproar, Speaker Birla allowed parliamentary papers to be laid on the table. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal later made a statement on the India-US trade agreement.

Congress MPs displayed banners and posters featuring the former Army chief and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while Rahul Gandhi was seen holding up a book in the House. The Speaker urged members to maintain decorum and criticised the display of placards inside the chamber. With opposition members remaining unrelenting, the proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm.

Before that, similar scenes were witnessed during the Question Hour, which lasted barely five minutes. Only one starred question and its supplementaries could be taken up before the Speaker adjourned the House till noon amid continued sloganeering.

On Tuesday, eight opposition members — seven from the Congress and one from the CPI-M — were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session for unruly behaviour.

The Lok Sabha has remained disrupted since Monday afternoon after Rahul Gandhi was disallowed from quoting an article referring to the unpublished memoir of former Army chief Naravane during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.