New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday was ultimately called off after a day of unprecedented disruptions, repeated adjournments and a deepening confrontation between the government and the Opposition over the issue of former Army chief General M M Naravane’s unpublished memoirs and the India-US trade deal. As protests spilled from the floor of the House to the Parliament premises, the stalemate effectively derailed proceedings in the lower House, with sources indicating that the Motion of Thanks may now be adopted without the Prime Minister’s response in Lok Sabha, while his reply is likely to be delivered in the Rajya Sabha at around 5 pm on Thursday.
The day began on a stormy note, with Opposition members vociferously objecting to what they described as attempts to silence Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi from referring to Naravane’s yet-to-be-released book during the debate. Proceedings were adjourned first at 11 am, then at 12 noon, and again at 2 pm as slogans filled the chamber. When the House reconvened, women MPs from the Opposition, led by Congress member Varsha Gaikwad, marched into the Well and towards the Treasury benches carrying banners and protesting both against the proposed trade deal with the United States and restrictions on references to the former Army chief’s memoirs.
Amid this turbulence, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey triggered a fresh flashpoint by citing a series of books, including “Edwina and Nehru” and the “Mitrokhin Archive”, while making remarks about former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, presiding over the proceedings, intervened to say that he could not permit such references under Rule 349, which prohibits members from reading from books, newspapers or letters unless directly connected to the business of the House. Despite this, Dubey continued, prompting Opposition MPs to rush towards him and forcing another adjournment, this time till 5 pm.
After the adjournment, Congress MPs met Speaker Om Birla to protest what they termed a double standard, arguing that while Gandhi was barred from referring to Naravane’s book, a ruling party member was allowed to quote from other publications. Opposition members also demanded Dubey’s suspension.
Gandhi, who has repeatedly claimed that the government is “scared” of the contents of Naravane’s memoirs, said earlier in the day that he intended to present a copy of the book to the Prime Minister if he appeared in Parliament. In a Hindi post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, “Today, if the Prime Minister comes to Parliament, I will present him with a book. This book is not by any opposition leader. This book is not by any foreign author. This book is by the country’s former Army Chief, General Naravane, and the surprising thing is that, according to the Cabinet Ministers, this book does not even exist.”
Gandhi also said he was being prevented from raising what he called a critical matter of national security linked to the 2020 China border crisis, and he had written to Speaker Birla on Tuesday after eight Opposition MPs were suspended for the remainder of the winter session.
After it became clear that Modi would not speak in Lok Sabha, Gandhi posted, “As I said, PM Modi won’t come to Parliament because he is scared and doesn’t want to face the truth.” His sister, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, echoed this, alleging that the Prime Minister was “too scared to enter Parliament”.
By evening, when the House reassembled at 5 pm, fresh protests erupted near the Prime Minister’s chair, leading BJP member Sandhya Rai, who was in the Chair, to adjourn proceedings for the day.