The Budget Session of Parliament, traditionally the stage for outlining the Union government’s economic priorities and facing legislative scrutiny, has instead descended into one of the most turbulent and politically fraught sessions in recent years. Overshadowed by an unpublished memoir of a former Army chief, a controversial trade deal with the United States, and repeated procedural breakdowns, the session has exposed deep institutional and democratic faultlines.
At the heart of the turmoil lies an unprecedented parliamentary moment: for the first time since 2004, the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was passed in the Lok Sabha without a reply from the Prime Minister. Even more striking, the motion was adopted in the absence of both Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition, following a severely curtailed debate in which only three MPs managed to speak amid continuous disruptions.
Although the Motion of Thanks was passed without a Prime Ministerial reply in June 2004, when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stayed away amid BJP protests, the present episode marks a far sharper rupture with convention. This time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t enter the Lok Sabha at all, while Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly prevented from speaking.
On Feb. 5, the motion was cleared by voice vote amid uproar from Opposition benches, with Modi and senior ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh absent. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later said he had advised the Prime Minister not to attend the House after receiving information that Congress women MPs had gathered near the PM’s chair and that “any untoward incident could have taken place.”
The Opposition rejected this explanation, accusing the Speaker of shielding the Prime Minister from parliamentary accountability. Congress leaders alleged that Modi deliberately avoided the House to escape answering questions, particularly on China and national security.
Naravane’s Memoir and China Standoff
The standoff was triggered by references to former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s yet-to-be-cleared memoir, Four Stars of Destiny. Excerpts from the book, reported by The Caravan, describe how Chinese troop movements in eastern Ladakh in August 2020 were handled, suggesting that the Army was left without clear political directives at a critical moment.
On Feb. 2, Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from The Caravan article while responding to BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s remarks questioning the Opposition’s patriotism. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju immediately objected, demanding clarity on whether the book had been formally published.
Speaker Birla invoked Rule 349, which bars MPs from citing books, newspapers or letters not directly connected to House business, and stopped Gandhi from proceeding. Despite Gandhi’s assertion that he was quoting a publicly available, authenticated article, the Treasury benches persisted with objections, forcing repeated adjournments.
“What is written here that they are so scared of?” Gandhi asked. “They say they fight terrorism, yet they are afraid of one quote.”
Charges of Selective Rule Enforcement
The Opposition accused the Chair of selectively enforcing parliamentary rules. While Gandhi was barred from referring to Naravane’s memoir, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had earlier displayed books in the House alleging corruption and personal misconduct by members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, an act the Opposition said violated the same Rule 349.
Tensions escalated further when Opposition MPs protested inside the Speaker’s chamber. Birla later described the episode as unprecedented and termed it a “black spot” on parliamentary democracy, without referring to the provocation that preceded it.
Suspensions and Political Escalation
As the confrontation intensified, the government moved to discipline the Opposition. Eight MPs, seven from Congress and one from CPI(M), were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session for “unruly conduct”. Opposition parties accused the government of using suspensions to stifle debate and avoid scrutiny on sensitive national security issues.
In response, Rahul Gandhi and Congress MPs displayed copies of Four Stars of Destiny outside Parliament, countering the government’s claim that the book did not exist. Addressing the media, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Modi had abdicated responsibility during the Ladakh crisis, leaving the Army chief isolated at a decisive moment.
Quoting from the memoir, Gandhi said Chinese tanks had entered Indian territory near the Kailash Range and that the Army had sought political clearance to respond. According to Gandhi, Naravane wrote that he felt “really alone” and “abandoned by the entire establishment” while awaiting political direction.
Government’s Counter-Narrative
The BJP responded by releasing an undated video clip of Naravane, seen in uniform, asserting that “not an inch of land has been lost.” The party accused Gandhi of misrepresenting facts and dragging the armed forces into partisan politics.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Gandhi had repeatedly violated House rules and demanded that he apologise for territory lost to China during the Congress regime in 1962. The government maintained that an unpublished book could not be cited in Parliament under any circumstances.
Modi’s Absence and Rajya Sabha Reply
While Modi stayed away from the Lok Sabha, he did reply to the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha. Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Mallikarjun Kharge, accused the Prime Minister of avoiding substantive issues and indulging in “repeated falsehoods”.
Kharge said Modi lacked the courage to face the Lok Sabha and was deliberately stalling Parliament to escape accountability. He also rejected the PM’s claims that the Congress had insulted Sikhs, noting that the country’s first Sikh Prime Minister came from the Congress.
The US Trade Deal Adds Fuel
The political temperature rose further following Modi’s telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump, announced amid the parliamentary deadlock. Trump claimed that India had agreed to a trade deal under which US reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced from 25% to 18%, while India would cut tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods to zero.
Trump also claimed that Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and committed to purchasing US energy, agricultural products and technology worth $500 billion, a figure amounting to nearly 85% of India’s annual Union Budget expenditure.
Modi, in his public response, thanked Trump for the tariff reduction but made no reference to a trade deal, Russian oil, or the scale of the alleged commitments. While Union ministers welcomed the development, the Opposition accused the PM of capitulation. Gandhi accused Modi of being “compromised” and said that the “balloon of his image that has been created with thousands of crores can burst.” Asked what kind of pressure he was referring to, Gandhi alleged that there is a case against industrialist Gautam Adani in the US and that a lot more is yet to come in the Epstein files.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said Modi had “finally surrendered”.
Parliament’s Deeper Crisis
Beyond individual controversies, the Budget Session has laid bare a deeper crisis in parliamentary functioning and the PM’s absence from the Lok Sabha at a critical moment has raised serious questions about executive accountability.
The passage of the Motion of Thanks without a Prime Ministerial reply was more than a procedural anomaly. It symbolised a growing erosion of Parliament’s deliberative role, as rules became tools of confrontation rather than instruments of debate. As the session continues, the unresolved questions surrounding Naravane’s memoir, the US trade deal, and the PM’s silence continue to inflame political tempers in the country.