Lok Sabha passes motion of thanks without PM Modi’s reply, first time since 2004: Here's why

President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of Parliament during the Budget Session has been approved by the Lok Sabha on Thursday without the Prime Minister's reply to his speech, marking the first such instance since 2004. PM Modi was slated to react to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address on Wednesday.

Amid repeated disruptions and sloganeering by opposition members, the Lok Sabha was adjourned. Speaker Om Birla read out the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament on January 28, which was adopted through a voice vote despite continued protests from the opposition.

As the uproar persisted, the Speaker adjourned the House until 2:00 pm. Earlier on Thursday, proceedings that began at 11 am were stalled soon after the INDIA bloc MPs raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre. Opposition members also protested what they described as the denial of an opportunity for Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak in the House.

What happened in 2004?

Earlier, the BJP disrupted the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's response to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in 2004. Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, shared a video on his social media platform X of Singh’s March 10, 2005, address. "This is the video of Dr Manmohan Singh’s speech on March 10 2005 - where he refers to the fact that he was prevented from replying to the Motion of Thanks on June 10, 2004," the video captioned.