Lok Sabha Passes President’s Address Without PM’s Reply For First Time Since 2004 Amid Opposition Protests

For the first time in over two decades, the Lok Sabha approved the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address without a reply from the Prime Minister. The unusual development took place on Thursday after continuous protests and sloganeering by opposition members disrupted proceedings during the Budget Session.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to respond to President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. However, repeated interruptions forced the Speaker to adjourn the House before the Prime Minister could speak. Subsequently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out the Motion of Thanks, which was passed through a voice vote despite ongoing protests from opposition benches.

The situation remained tense as opposition MPs continued raising slogans, prompting the Speaker to adjourn the House till 2 pm. When the House reconvened at 11 am on Thursday, it was again adjourned shortly after INDIA bloc members protested against the Centre, accusing it of denying Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi the opportunity to speak in the House.

The opposition has been demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to address the Lok Sabha and quote from former Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir related to the 2020 China border standoff. The confrontation escalated earlier in the week after eight Congress MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session for unruly behaviour.

The last time a similar situation occurred was in 2004, when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was prevented from replying to the Motion of Thanks. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh later shared archival footage recalling that episode, drawing parallels with the current impasse in Parliament.