The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress on Friday issued a 'three-line whip' to their Lok Sabha MPs regarding their presence in the House during the second phase of the Budget Session (March 9 to 11). A three-line whip is a serious form of instruction issued by a political party to its members in parliament, requiring them to attend.
Important legislative and other business is expected to be addressed on a priority basis during the second phase of the Budget session.
The first part of the Budget session, which began on January 28 and concluded on February 13, witnessed political debates over the India-US interim trade deal and the memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane, whose publishing status remained a matter of controversy even outside the Parliament. The Parliament budget session began in January with the President's address to a joint sitting of the two Houses, comprises 30 sittings over 65 days, and is scheduled to conclude on April 2.
The recess will allow Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments.
Key takeaways from the first phase of the Budget session —
On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha. She rose to her ninth consecutive Budget.
On February 2, during the motion of thanks on the President's Address, Lok Sabha witnessed sharp verbal exchanges after the Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House sought to quote a magazine article containing excerpts from Naravane's unpublished memoir. The ruling benches objected to Gandhi's attempt to cite excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General Naravane. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs objected, arguing that the memoir had not been published and could not be quoted in the House.
Further, eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following an uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on making a specific reference to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
Lok Sabha on February 5 passed the Motion of Thanks to the President's address without the customary reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amid the drama and an unprecedented incident, replying to the motion of thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world is rapidly moving toward a new global order.
After all the drama, the Congress party later submitted a no-confidence motion notice against the Lok Sabha Speaker. In reply, Speaker Om Birla decided on moral grounds that he will not attend the proceedings of the House till the disposal of the no-confidence motion notice against him.
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