On February 4, 2026, Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid a high-voltage protest by women MPs from Opposition parties. They walked across the aisle and held up banners in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat to protest BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s allegations against former Congress Prime Ministers. Mr. Modi was not present then. BJP MP Sandhya Rai, chairing the session, adjourned the House. The adjournment came just before Mr. Modi was to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address. Congress indicated it would only allow the Prime Minister to speak if Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was also permitted. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi displayed a physical copy of former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane’s "unreleased memoir" to accuse the Prime Minister of shirking responsibility during the 2020 India-China conflict. He challenged Mr. Modi to face the House, saying, "I don’t think the Prime Minister would have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today, because if he comes, I will go physically and hand him this book." At around 2 p.m., BJP MP Nishikant Dubey read from books like Edwina, Nehru, and Mitrokhin Archives during the debate, making what were called "slanderous allegations" against former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Despite warnings citing parliamentary rules, he continued for nearly three minutes. Congress members rushed towards the BJP benches in protest. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the government for deliberately disrupting proceedings, saying Dubey got daily chance to speak during Zero Hour while opposition MPs waited for their turn. She called this "an insult to democracy, Parliament and even the Honourable Speaker." After the adjournment, Congress members met Speaker Om Birla demanding action against Mr. Dubey. The Speaker’s office later expunged many objectionable remarks from the House records. Congress MP K.C. Venugopal claimed double standards, noting that the Leader of Opposition’s microphone was switched off quickly while Dubey spoke for nearly five minutes. In the evening, Congress floor leaders met to plan a joint strategy with other Opposition parties. Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh referred to a 2004 precedent when BJP, then Opposition, blocked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s reply. He said, "The Prime Minister will speak when the LoP speaks. If the Opposition leader can’t speak, then what’s the point of the debate?" The deadlock is set to continue until Rahul Gandhi is allowed to speak in the House.