Ex-Army chief memoir sparks LS row

Lok Sabha saw intense debate between the ruling party and Opposition on Monday when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from the memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane regarding the India-China conflict, prompting Cabinet Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh to intervene. The session was adjourned three times as Rahul tried to refer to Naravane, but could not finish even one sentence due to accusations by Rajnath and other BJP members that he was misleading the House.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla prevented Rahul from raising the issue amid heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches. Birla directed Rahul to confine his remarks to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, frequently citing a House rule prohibiting MPs from quoting or referring to newspapers or magazines.

As Rahul did not yield, he was joined by several Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Rahul said he would first like to respond to the charges made by the previous speaker, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, against the Congress on nationalism and began quoting from what he said was the “memoir” of Gen. Naravane (retd), talking about the India-China conflict of 2020.

Defence Minister and Home Minister strongly protested and asked Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether the book had been published or not in this milieu continued for about 50 minutes. Rahul insisted that the document was authenticated and he could quote from it. He said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP’s Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress.

While Rajnath maintained that the book had not been published, Rahul said he was quoting from a magazine article to put forth his views. Birla again disallowed it, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called for the Speaker’s ruling to be adhered to. The minister said Rahul Gandhi was setting a wrong example for young MPs by not following the rules of the House.

When Rahul persisted, Birla repeatedly warned him against quoting the book. Home Minister Amit Shah also repeatedly questioned the Congress leader over not adhering to the Speaker’s directive and also clarified that Surya had not cast aspersion on the patriotism of the Congress but only spelt out what was stated by the Government through the President’s addresses between 2004 and 2014.

With both the treasury and opposition MPs unrelenting, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm. When the House reassembled at 3 pm, Rahul again attempted to raise the India-China border issue and met with stiff resistance from the treasury benches. As the deadlock continued, Birla adjourned the House till 4 pm.

BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi undermined the dignity of Parliament and hurt the morale of the Indian soldiers with his false accusations in the Lok Sabha on the India-China border issue in defiance of Speaker Om Birla’s ruling. Speaking to the media at the Parliament House complex, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s conduct in the House was “deliberate” and part of a “well-thought-out conspiracy” to defame India and demoralise the country’s army.

BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni slammed the Congress leader for insisting on speaking on the issue despite the speaker’s ruling against it. “This is the height of the ideological bankruptcy of this stubborn Rahul Gandhi,” he said on a social media post. Baluni alleged that Rahul Gandhi not only undermined the dignity of Parliament but also hurt the morale of brave Indian soldiers through his “continuous false accusations and misleading statements”.

Speaking to the media in the Parliament House complex, Rahul said the Government is afraid of a line that he wants to quote from the former army chief’s book and asserted that he would state it in the Lower House. “Naravane ji has written about the prime minister and Rajnath Singh ji clearly in his book, which has appeared in an article, and I am quoting from that article. They are scared because if it comes out, the reality of Narendra Modi ji and Rajnath Singh ji will be revealed. What happened to the 56-inch chest when China was before us and advancing?” Rahul said.    

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said her brother would authenticate what he is saying and asserted that rules permit quoting from a published source, adding that the material Gandhi referred to had been published in an article.