A sharp war of words broke out in the Rajya Sabha on  during the discussion on the President’s Address, with the government and the opposition locking horns over alleged disruption and denial of speaking time to the Leader of the Opposition.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of derailing proceedings that had been progressing smoothly for several days. Speaking in the House, Rijiju said, “Recently, the opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge suddenly raised some issues in the discussion on the President’s address, which had been going on smoothly for the past three days, citing democratic principles…” His remarks suggested that the opposition had unnecessarily injected controversy into an otherwise orderly debate.

Rijiju’s statement immediately prompted a strong intervention from Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, who rejected the allegation and countered that the disruption stemmed from the opposition being silenced.

Responding on the floor of the House, Kharge said, “We don’t want to disturb the House; it hasn’t been functioning for the past four days because the Leader of Opposition is not being allowed to speak…” He asserted that repeated denial of speaking opportunities to opposition leaders was undermining parliamentary democracy and preventing meaningful debate.