The PN on Thursday accused the government of "guillotine politics" after adjourning parliament a week before it was supposed to.
Opposition whip Robert Cutajar said both sides of the house had agreed to adjourn the sittings next week, however, the government unilaterally decided to suspend parliament on Wednesday without prior warning.
“This clearly shows the government is in crisis after deciding to adjourn parliament yesterday despite an agreement to do so on May 22.
"The government used guillotine politics to stop parliamentary discussion. Clear proof that the government is in panic mode," he told journalists.
Home Affairs minister Byron Camilleri adjourned the house on Wednesday, saying the house will meet again on June 10 - the Monday after the EU and local council elections.
PN MPs who spoke in parliament after Camilleri's announcement did not complain about the earlier adjournment.
The government has the power to set parliament's agenda and adjourn sittings when it chooses, and the House is usually adjourned before elections. However, the adjournment period ahead of the elections in 2019 had been shorter, Cutajar said.
Parliament has been a tense state of affairs since the conclusions of the Vitals inquiry.
PN leader Bernard Grech has said the Opposition will be practising “parliamentary disobedience” after two rulings by the Speaker denying requests for urgent debate on issues stemming from the inquiry.
The PN parliamentary group also walked out of a sitting after Grech’s request to discuss “the urgent need” for the inquiry to be discussed was turned down.
Then on Monday, PN supporters gathered in protest, loudly jeering and chanting "mafia, mafia" at Labour MPs as they left parliament.
Cutajar said the decision to adjourn parliament so early comes after the government had proposed to pause it last week. The PN had opposed that, and the government accepted.
Cutajar and government whip Naomi Cachia had instead agreed to adjourn the House on May 22 and had even agreed on the agenda for that week, Cutajar said.
'How can you say you're practising disobedience and expect an update?'
Government whip Naomi Cachia told Times of Malta parliament adjourned early as MPs were busy campaigning for the elections.
She said that while the government had suggested parliament adjourns on Wednesday, the PN had disagreed with that proposal.
"Because of the current electoral campaign, MPs were coming in for the first few minutes of a sitting before heading to campaign events," she said.
As a consequence, parliament sittings were even wrapping up early on most days, she said.
This claim was countered by the PN's whip who said parliament participation was strong in recent days.
Asked why they did not consult the PN beforehand, Cachia said the PN could not on one hand say it was practising parliamentary disobedience and on the other expect the government to consult it when it did not have to.