The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Thursday after a heated stand-off between the government and the Opposition when Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded that he be allowed to speak before the Budget discussion began.

The disruption followed Rahul’s claim that Speaker Om Birla had assured the Opposition that he would be given time to raise certain issues ahead of the debate, an assurance he alleged was later withdrawn by the Chair. The government denied that any such commitment had been made.

Raising the matter in the House, Rahul addressed BJP MP Sandhya Ray, who was presiding in Birla’s absence, saying the Speaker had “personally committed” to allowing him to speak. “Now you are going back on your word. I would like to know whether I would be allowed to speak about those points or not,” he said.

Ray said that she had not received any notice on the LoP raising any issues, and without proper procedure, they cannot discuss matters.

"I have not gotten any notice, I don't know what issue you want to raise. Please debate on the budget, if you want to discuss the budget please speak," ANI quoted Ray.

She added, "No issue will come forward without notice."

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju rejected Gandhi’s assertion, saying there was no agreement to allow the LoP to speak outside established procedure. He said that if Gandhi intended to make remarks concerning the Speaker, Birla should be present in the House to respond.

"Speaker sir also said in the chamber, Venugopal was there, I also joined. Speaker had said that ‘if everyone agrees then House should function’. It was said from Venugopal too, that they want their Leader of Opposition to speak; we asked ‘what issue do you want to raise?’. If they accuse the Speaker of something, then there will be a reply by the speaker too. What Rahul Gandhi said is 100 per cent false, speaker has not said that," Rijiju told the House.

Rijiju also said the speaker tried to resolve the deadlock and he said that every member of the House would be allowed to speak.

“The Speaker had said that if a solution is found and house functions then Rahul Gandhi, followed by other party leaders, and parliamentary affairs minister will speak,” he said.

The confrontation came against the backdrop of repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha since February 3, after Rahul was disallowed by the Chair from quoting from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief M.M. Naravane’s unpublished memoir, which refers to the 2020 India-China conflict.

Later, speaking at Parliament complex, Rahul said: “The story started a few days ago with the issue related to the Naravane book. The government did not want me to discuss it at all, and as a result, the House was stalled. I was not allowed to speak, and this happened three or four times.”

Speaking to ANI, Rahul said he clarified that he was not quoting from a book but a magazine, after which the government said he could not quote a magazine either.

“When I said I would speak about the issue without quoting anything, they still did not allow me to speak. The defence minister also falsely claimed that the book had not been published. In fact, the book has been published, and we even have a copy,” Rahul said.

The Rae Bareilly MP said that one BJP MP quoted from multiple books and made objectionable remarks, yet nothing was said or done.

“We object to a situation where the ruling party can say anything it wants, whenever it wants, while the Opposition is silenced,” Rahul said.

The Congress leader also reiterated that the Prime Minister did not come to the House not because of any threat from Congress’ women MPs, but because of what he was saying.

“He remains afraid because he cannot face the truth,” Rahul added. “If anyone had actually made such a threat, an FIR should be filed immediately and that person should be arrested. Why has that not been done?”

“The Prime Minister did not come to the House because he was afraid of what we were going to say, and even of being presented with Mr. Naravane’s book as a first step. I believe the government is also worried about a Budget debate, because issues such as the US deal - how it was done, what its consequences are, and its impact on our farmers - will be raised, and the government does not want that discussion to take place,” Rahul said.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the situation “very sad” and “undemocratic.” “The Leader of the Opposition is not allowed to speak even for one minute. It is ridiculous. This is not democracy. What are we coming here for?,” she said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that it is a "tradition" to give the LoP a chance to speak.

"Very clearly, there is a long-standing tradition of the House, of more than 70 years, that when two people ask for the floor, it is always given -- first is the LoP and the other is the minister for Parliamentary Affairs," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

"Now we have had two successive presiding officers who refused to let the LoP speak, whereas the minister for Parliamentary Affairs, whenever he raises his hand, is given the floor. That is not correct. You cannot favour the government side like this. The House belongs to all of us," the Congress leader said.

Tharoor further said, "I do not understand what instructions these presiding officers came with, but they simply would not let Rahul Gandhi speak." "So when I got the mic on the Budget, I said I yield to the LoP, 'let him speak'. Then they cut off my mic and the LoP's mic. I don't understand what the government and Speaker want?" he said.