NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp disruptions on Monday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from what he described as the “memoir” of former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
As Gandhi rose to speak, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah objected, stating that the book had not yet been published and accusing the Congress leader of misleading the House. Rajnath Singh sought clarification from Gandhi on whether the memoir was officially published, stressing that unpublished material could not be cited in Parliament.
Gandhi said he was responding to allegations made earlier by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who questioned the Congress party’s nationalism. “A young colleague made allegations against the Congress party regarding patriotism and Indian culture. I was not going to raise this issue, but since our patriotism has been questioned, I would like to read something from the memoir of Army Chief Naravane,” Gandhi said, urging members to “listen carefully” to understand “who is patriotic and who is not.”
Maintaining that the document he was referring to was authenticated, Gandhi insisted he had the right to quote from it. “What does it contain that is scaring them so much? If they are not scared, I should be allowed to read,” he said amid loud protests from the treasury benches.
Speaker Om Birla intervened, ruling that no unpublished book, newspaper clipping, or unrelated material could be quoted during proceedings. Despite the ruling, Gandhi continued to assert that the document was verified and attempted to raise the issue of China.
Government sources later alleged that Gandhi was reading “concocted material” related to China, and pointed to existing public records concerning former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s handling of India-China relations.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju warned that continued defiance of the Speaker’s ruling could lead to discussions on disciplinary action. “If the Opposition does not follow the rules and ignores the Speaker’s directions, the House will have to decide what action needs to be taken,” Rijiju said.
As the uproar continued, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav came out in support of Rahul Gandhi and urged the Speaker to allow him to speak.
The House remained tense as repeated objections and counter-objections stalled the proceedings.
