Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday displayed excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane and accused PM Modi of “not fulfulling responsibility” during the 2020 India-China military clashes in Ladakh.Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament the Congress leader said, “The speaker is saying that this book does not exist, Rajnath ji has said this book does not exist. This is Naravane ji’s book wherein he has written the account of Ladakh…Narendra Modi ji did not fulfil his responsibility.”“He told the Army Chief to do whatever he wants to do. Army Chief General Naravane has clearly written in this book that he felt really alone. This is what they are scared of me saying,” he added. Citing the book, he added, “PM Modi did not fulfil his responsibility and passed the buck on to then army chief.” “If PM comes to Lok Sabha, I will give him ex-army chief Naravane’s book: Rahul Gandhi,” added Gandhi.His remarks came after he tried to quote excerpts from the unpublished book during the Parliament session on Monday. Gandhi insisted on raising the issue of India-China confrontation of August 2020 and was interrupted repeatedly by defence minister Rajnath Singh and later home minister Amit Shah, who asked him not to quote from any unverified source. Naravane was the Army Chief at the time of the Ladakh confrontation. The excerpts cited by Rahul Gandhi were recently published by an online portal.Earlier, on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, registering his “strongest protest” over being denied the opportunity to speak on the President’s address during the ongoing Budget session. He described the restriction as a “blot on our democracy” and alleged that the government is “scared” of what is written in the book.
