New Delhi: The Lok Sabha floor witnessed a rare moment of personal banter and sharp political wit on Wednesday during the Budget 2026 discussions. What began as a past tease from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ended in a stinging rebuke from the Chair, as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagdambika Pal reminded the Congress leader why his party currently sits on the opposition benches.
Why was Jagdambika Pal presiding over the Lok Sabha
The exchange occurred while Jagdambika Pal was presiding over the House in place of Speaker Om Birla, who said he would not sit in the Chair until a pending no-confidence motion is resolved.
The friction began when Pal, acting as the presiding officer, interrupted Gandhi’s speech to ask him to stick strictly to the budget after BJP MPs protested Gandhi’s remarks on an India-US trade deal.
Gandhi, referring to Pal’s political history, said, “We know you are an ex-member of our party, so I will not be very aggressive today.”
When a perplexed Pal asked why his past was being brought up, Gandhi doubled down with a smile: “Because you are an ex-member of our party. We like you, sir, and we know your heart is not there (with the BJP). We know your heart is here (with the Congress).”
31-hour CM fires back
Pal, a seasoned politician with decades of experience on both sides of the aisle, did not miss a beat. He abandoned the neutral tone of the Chair for a moment to deliver a calculated blow to the Congress leadership.
“Had you agreed to my advice, you would not be sitting there (in the opposition),” Pal retorted. “If you’re sitting there, it is only because you have not taken my advice.”
Despite the tension, the exchange ended on a lighter note later in the session, with Gandhi thanking Pal for his leniency. “Sir, you allowed me to speak more today,” he concluded.
Who is Jagdambika Pal?
The “advice” Pal referred to stems from his long and storied career within Congress before his high-profile exit. Pal left the Congress in 2014 to join the BJP. Since then, he has secured three consecutive terms as the MP for Domariyaganj in Uttar Pradesh.
Before his defection, he was a heavyweight in the UP Congress, serving as the party’s state president and winning the Domariyaganj seat on a Congress ticket in 2009.
Pal is most famous in Indian political history for his blink-and-miss stint as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1998. Following the controversial dismissal of the Kalyan Singh government, Pal was sworn in by Governor Romesh Bhandari, only to be ousted 31 hours later after a court intervention.