4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 4, 2026 09:10 PM IST
The Lok Sabha was adjourned in dramatic and unusual circumstances Wednesday evening, minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to reply to the debate on the President’s Address, after Congress MPs marched towards the treasury benches holding a large banner which had the Prime Minister’s photograph and a slogan that read “Jo uchit samjho wo karo”.
The Congress move, which deepened its standoff with the ruling alliance in the House, came hours after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey targeted the Nehru-Gandhi family, leading to an uproar and adjournments.
When the House reconvened at 5 pm after an adjournment, Deputy Speaker Sandhya Ray, who was chairing the proceedings, asked BJP MP P P Chaudhary to speak. Congress MPs, joined by other Opposition members, stormed the well of the House, shouting slogans. SP members were also in the well, holding placards with pictures of an Ahilyabai Holkar temple in Varanasi which they alleged was damaged during renovation work.
Almost simultaneously, a group of Congress MPs, led by Varsha Gaikwad, unfurled a large banner bearing the Prime Minister’s photograph and a slogan that read “Jo uchit samjho wo karo” – this was seen as a reference to a purported line from an unpublished book by former Army chief General M M Naravane that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had cited a few days ago.
Holding the banner, the MPs began walking towards the treasury benches and crossed four rows before they were stopped by senior BJP leaders including Ashwini Vaishnaw and Arjun Ram Meghwal.
As the BJP leaders engaged with the Congress MPs, Dubey left the House. Amid the commotion, Ray announced that the House stood adjourned until 11 am Thursday. Vaishnaw was heard asking BJP MPs to leave the chamber while Opposition members continued to raise slogans.
Earlier, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking outside the House, had said: “If the LoP is not allowed to speak, we will not let them speak either.” After the final adjournment, she again targeted the Prime Minister.
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She accused the government of using Dubey to provoke the Opposition. “Nishikant ji is brought forward only when the government wants to create disruption. The government is not letting a member quote from a book, but he (Dubey) brings six books to the House and quotes from them. This government wants to show that only their way will work in Parliament. …It is the first time that the government itself doesn’t want the House to function.”
Before the House was adjourned for the day, Congress leaders had met Speaker Om Birla around 4 pm. Sources said they objected to the manner in which Dubey had spoken about the Gandhi family.
In the morning, Congress MPs staged a demonstration at the Makar Dwar in Parliament against the suspension of eight Opposition MPs and over Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to speak. Gandhi himself joined the protest.
Inside Lok Sabha, proceedings were repeatedly disrupted from the beginning, with Opposition members raising issues ranging from the Indo-US trade deal to the suspension of MPs.
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The Speaker adjourned the House until noon after his appeals to let Question Hour function were ignored. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal later made a statement on the Indo-US trade deal amid loud protests, triggering another adjournment until 2 pm.
