The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday, February 9, 2026, after a deadlock between the government and the opposition. Rahul Gandhi wanted to speak before the Union Budget debate began. After the House convened at 2 p.m., Sandhya Ray, chairing the session, asked Congress member Shashi Tharoor to start the Budget debate. Mr. Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi, as Leader of Opposition, should speak first. Ms. Ray said she had no objection if Mr. Gandhi wanted to speak on the Budget now. Mr. Gandhi claimed an earlier meeting between Speaker Om Birla and opposition MPs promised him a chance to speak first, but the Chair denied knowing this. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said no such agreement existed and suggested that if Mr. Gandhi wanted to speak about the Speaker, then Mr. Birla should also be present to respond. With no agreement, the Chair adjourned the House. Earlier on the same day, the House faced two adjournments. At 11 a.m., opposition members raised urgent issues during Question Hour. Speaker Birla said these could be discussed during the Budget debate. Opposition protests led him to call them “planned disruptions” and adjourn the House temporarily. At noon, when the House resumed with Krishna Prasad Tenneti in the Chair, opposition parties insisted Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak before Mr. Tharoor began. Mr. Tenneti said he needed clarity as Congress had named Mr. Tharoor as its lead speaker. Mr. Tharoor said he would yield to the LoP. The stalemate continued and the House was adjourned till 2 p.m. After the day's adjournment, Mr. Tharoor told reporters Rahul Gandhi wanted to respond to allegations that Congress MPs planned an “unexpected act” when the Prime Minister was to reply last week. He said the LoP needed to clarify his stance. The Lok Sabha has faced disruptions since February 3 after Mr. Gandhi was stopped from quoting from former Army chief M.M. Naravane’s unpublished memoir. On February 4, protests stopped Prime Minister Narendra Modi from replying to the debate on the President’s address, leading to an unprecedented passing of the Motion of Thanks without the PM’s speech. Speaker Birla had said Congress MPs planned an “unexpected act” near the PM’s seat, so he advised the PM not to attend. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra denied any such plan, calling it "an absolute lie." The Budget discussion scheduled for February 5 could not start due to the deadlock. The stalemate continued on February 9 after the weekend break.