By: The Trek News Desk
The first phase of Parliament’s Budget Session concluded on Friday, February 13, 2026, following days of heated exchanges and repeated disruptions in both Houses. The Lok Sabha will reconvene on March 9 after a three-week recess, during which parliamentary standing committees will examine budgetary allocations made to various central ministries.
Proceedings in the Lok Sabha were briefly adjourned on Friday after Opposition members raised slogans demanding the resignation of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The Opposition also voiced strong objections to the interim trade agreement between India and the United States.
The Budget Session had commenced on January 28 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha, which met for Question Hour and Zero Hour, was also adjourned until March 9 as part of the scheduled recess.
Tensions escalated in the Lok Sabha beginning February 2 after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was denied permission to read excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief M. M. Naravane. The excerpts were reportedly linked to the 2020 India-China border conflict.
The Chair’s decision triggered days of noisy protests. In the aftermath, seven Congress MPs and one CPI(M) member were suspended for the remainder of the session over unruly conduct, including climbing onto officials’ tables and throwing torn papers toward the Chair.
Amid fears of further disorder, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the Lower House during the reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. The Prime Minister chose not to speak in the Lok Sabha but later responded to a similar debate in the Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition also submitted a notice seeking the removal of the Speaker. Citing moral grounds, Om Birla stated that he would refrain from presiding over House proceedings until the matter is resolved. The resolution is likely to be taken up during the second phase of the session.
During discussions on the Union Budget, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of failing to safeguard India’s interests in the interim trade agreement with the U.S.
In response, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman countered that compromises at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been made during the previous Congress-led government.
Despite the disruptions, Parliament passed a Bill amending the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The amendment aims to ensure legal clarity regarding the continuity of certain laws that the code replaced. It was the first legislation introduced and cleared during this Budget Session.
The Budget Session is scheduled to conclude on April 2, with the second phase commencing on March 9.
Source: News Agencies
