Parliament continues its discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, with PM Modi set to reply. The session has been contentious, with 8 opposition MPs suspended following a standoff involving Rahul Gandhi's remarks.
Discussion on Motion of Thanks Continues
Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session on Wednesday. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. The House has allotted 18 hours for the discussion, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply today.
In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28.
Public Accounts Committee to Table Reports
According to the List of Business, MPs Jair Parkash and Balashowry Vallabhaneni are scheduled to present the Reports of the Public Accounts Committee 2025-26. These reports include the Thirty-sixth Report of the Public Accounts Committee (2025-26) on the subject 'Punctuality and Travel Time in Train Operations in Indian Railways'; Thirty-seventh Report of the Public Accounts Committee (2025-26) on the subject 'Short Collection of Fees due to Application of Incorrect Exchange Rate in Fixing the Fees for Overseas Citizenship of India Card Scheme and Irregularities in Setting Up of Indian Cultural Centres by Indian Missions at Washington and Paris' and the Thirty-eighth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/ Recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee contained in their Seventy-eighth Report (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on 'Performance Audit of Agriculture Crop Insurance Scheme'.
Opposition Standoff and MP Suspensions
On Tuesday, the discussion on the motion led to a standoff between the opposition and the government in the Lok Sabha, as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi reinvoked the unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane. Eight opposition MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair".
The opposition MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the session are Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose, and CPI(M) member S Venkatesan.
Rahul Gandhi also wrote to Speaker Om Birla, raising concerns over "being prevented from speaking" on matters of national security during the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.
Budget Session Schedule
The Budget session will span 30 sittings over 65 days, concluding on April 2. 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.
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