Rajnath Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Amit Shah
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha was adjourned thrice on Monday, and finally for the day, after Opposition and Treasury benches clashed over Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi insisting on raising the issue of India-China confrontation of Aug 2020 on the basis of purported extracts from a yet-to-be published book by former Army chief M M Naravane.He was interrupted repeatedly by defence minister Rajnath Singh and later home minister Amit Shah, who asked him not to quote from any unverified source. Gandhi was speaking on the motion for thanks to the President’s speech.Speaker Om Birla failed to defuse the situation even after he gave a ruling asking Gandhi not to refer to news articles or extracts from an unpublished book and speak only on what could be authenticated by placing it on record. The LoP maintained that he should be allowed to speak on the issue, saying excerpts of the unpublished book had been published in Caravan magazine and were authentic.When the clashes continued even after two adjournments, the chair finally adjourned the proceedings for the day.The ruckus began in LS as Gandhi was called to speak on the motion just after BJP’s Tejashwi Surya spoke, recalling how presidential addresses during the 10 years of UPA regime were marked with references to Left wing violence and bomb blasts across the country, and about sinking economic growth. As per the report cited by Rahul, in the unpublished book, Naravane, the Army chief from 2019 to 2022, had given some accounts of the closed-door discussions he had had with the authorities seeking permission to act against the advancing Chinese Army after the Galwan clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Gandhi said he was forced to rake up the issue after BJP made references to Congress’s functioning during the previous UPA regime.Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju interrupted Gandhi every time he mentioned the clash with the Chinese army, saying the chair has already given its ruling and the same is binding on all members, and the discussion should be confined to the motion of thanks to the President’s address.But Rahul said it was legitimate for him to answer as the defence minister, HM and PM often raise questions on “our character”. The article raised questions about the PM, HM and defence minister, and he was not being allowed to speak, he said.Later, accusing PM Narendra Modi of avoiding a decision in the face of Chinese aggression, Rahul said the Modi govt is afraid that General Naravane’s book would reveal to the people the “reality”— the reason govt is not allowing the publication of the book and permitting the leader of the opposition to speak in Lok Sabha.Congress MP KC Venugopal accused the Modi govt of distorting parliamentary rules to stop Rahul Gandhi from raising a genuine issue. He said rule 349 being cited by govt to stall Rahul’s speech states that a member “shall not read any book, newspaper or letter except in connection with the business of the House”. He said the business of the house is the President’s joint address, of which national security is a central issue.In a bid to embarrass govt, Rahul has made it a habit to demoralise armed forces: BJPBJP on Monday accused Rahul Gandhi of weaponising national security to demoralise the armed forces in his bid to embarrass govt and sought to turn the tables by citing past comments of former Army chief Gen M M Naravane in which he had stressed that not an inch of Indian land was lost to China during the recent conflict.“Rahul Gandhi’s conduct was shameful. It has become his habit to demoralise the armed forces and using them to embarrass the govt,” BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters, emphasising that there were dozens of videos of Gen Naravane highlighting how India stood up to the “bully” China and gave it a befitting reply during the 2020 conflict. Not an inch of land was lost, he said quoting the ex-Army chief.BJP’s strident attack on the Congress leader came after his attempt to quote from a magazine that claimed to have accessed Gen Naravane’s unpublished memoir created a ruckus in Lok Sabha, drawing strong protests from ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and a ruling from Speaker Om Birla that he cannot refer to a book which is not published.Rahul later attacked the govt in comments to media outside Parliament after Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day as he kept returning to the article.Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that Rahul was using the sensitive issue of national security as a weapon for political reasons. “Don’t play with national security by speaking the language of anti-India elements,” he said, accusing Rahul of defying the chair.Rijiju then referred to the loss of Indian territory to China during the 1962 war to seek Rahul’s apology. “Does he think is he is above Parliament as he does not follow rules?” he asked.
