The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday without transacting any business as Opposition members repeatedly trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans and waving placards against the government.

Barring the President’s address to Parliament and the presentation of the Union budget, which was passed amid rare calm on Sunday, the Lower House has conducted little substantive business during the budget session that commenced on January 28.

While the Lok Sabha could not hold a proper discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, a debate on the budget has yet to be taken up. Ruling side managers said they were hopeful that discussions on the budget would begin next week, but acknowledged they were keeping their fingers crossed given the prevailing mood in the Opposition.

The standoff, triggered by the denial of permission to leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to refer to an "unpublished book" by former army chief M.M. Naravane, appeared to have united the Opposition, leaving the Treasury benches on the defensive.

For the first time since Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, the Prime Minister was compelled to cancel his customary reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress sharpened its attack by calling Modi “a coward” and drawing a contrast with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The party recalled that in 2004, Singh had faced a similar situation in the Lok Sabha when the Opposition did not allow him to reply to the motion of thanks.

While Modi stayed away from the House, Singh remained present and urged the Opposition to proceed with voting on the motion of thanks. The Congress post had a video showing Singh standing in the House as BJP members in the Opposition benches tore papers and flung them in the air in protest against ministers with criminal records in the then government.

The Congress also stepped up its attack on the government over the much-touted India-US trade deal. Congress MPs, led by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, carried large banners reading “Trap Deal” and bearing photographs of Modi and US President Donald Trump to protest against the agreement.

“The India-US trade deal is a direct assault on India’s farmers and traders. Finalised entirely on America’s terms, this is a trap deal that compromises our national interest,” the party said in a statement.