Parliament 2026 highlights: In Rajya Sabha address, PM Modi's 'big insult' charge at Oppn for LS disruption

PM Modi addressing Rajya Sabha on Thursday,

Parliament 2026 highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his address in Rajya Sabha on Thursday amid protests and sloganeering from the opposition parties. At the start of his speech, PM Modi took a jibe at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge telling him to "sit and make slogans" considering his age. Soon after, the opposition MPs walked out of the house, prompting the prime minister to say, "thak gaye, chale gaye" (They got tired, they left).

In his address, PM Modi targeted Rahul Gandhi over his remark calling Union MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu a “traitor.”

“Yesterday, a member of this Parliament was called a traitor…Many people have left congress, the party has been split several times. But he (Rahul) did not term anyone else a traitor,” the Prime Minister said.

He further added, “But our honorable MP was called a traitor because he was a Sikh, and this is a display of the enmity against Sikhs present inside the Congress.” “They insulted a man whose family was martyred for the country. Just because he changed his political ideology,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi also spoke about Viksit Bharat, saying India is witnessing high growth and low inflation. He said that from ‘fragile 5’, the country was now moving towards becoming the third largest economy.

The Prime Minister targeted the opposition on immigration, saying the court is facing pressure over the issue. The prime minister was making an apparent jibe at Mamata Banerjee, who appeared before the Supreme Court in challenge against the ongoing SIR exercise of the Election Commission.

Highlighting the trade deals with European Union and United States, PM Modi said India had now become the “leading voice” in Global South. The prime minister said that the country recently signed nine trade deals, including the "mother of all deals" with the 27-nation bloc EU.

Lok Sabha adjourned amid protests

Lok Sabha proceedings on Thursday were halted thrice. The proceedings on Thursday were first adjourned within a minute of commencement at 11 am and as the proceedings resumed at 12, it was halted again amid noisy protest from the Opposition side. The proceedings resumed at 2, but were halted till 3pm again. However, the session was adjourned for the day not soon after, with proceedings to resume at 11 am on Friday.

Wednesday's high drama in the Lok Sabha saw women MPs from the Opposition gheraoing the Prime Minister's seat with banners ahead of his scheduled speech. This led to adjournment of proceedings for the day and Modi did not speak in the House.

While the Lok Sabha proceedings and the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address have been hampered by repeated adjournments this week, the Rajya Sabha has functioned without disruptions so far.

What led to Lok Sabha adjournments?

The row over former Army chief MM Naravane's unpublished memoir with reference to 2020 India-China standoff continued to hamper the House proceedings for third straight day on Wednesday. The BJP has alleged that Gandhi's mention of Naravane's unpublished memoir violates House rules and risked demoralising the armed forces. The slugfest between the ruling government and the Opposition further heightened on Wednesday as the BJP accused the Opposition of deliberately creating a ruckus in Parliament to stop PM Modi from speaking. The Congress alleged that he stayed away because he did not want scrutiny on national security.

Gandhi also displayed “Four Stars of Destiny”, ex-Army chief MM Naravane’s book, to reporters and said he would hand it over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he came to the Lok Sabha.

When will the budget session conclude?

The Budget session will conclude on April 2 as it comprises 30 sittings over 65 days. The two Houses will adjourn for a recess on February 13 and reconvene on March 9 to enable the Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments.