Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi (C) and Rajnath Singh (R)
NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha witnessed a major showdown on Monday as leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi rose to speak during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.Rahul Gandhi began his speech by quoting excerpts from the memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane, triggering immediate objections from defence minister Rajnath Singh and home minister Amit Shah.
Both ministers protested on procedural grounds, arguing that the book had not yet been officially published and therefore could not be cited in the House.The Congress leader, however, insisted that the document he was referring to was “authentic” and that he was well within his rights to quote from it. He said he had not originally intended to raise the issue, but decided to do so after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party earlier in the debate.“No debate on who is patriotic and who is not. Our patriotism is not buried,” Rahul said.Rajnath Singh countered the reference, maintaining that the memoir had not been published and therefore could not be brought into parliamentary proceedings.Home minister Amit Shah also hit back sharply. “I listened carefully to the speech of the honourable Member of Parliament, Tejasvi Surya. At no point did he question the nationalism or character of the Opposition,” Shah said. “In his speech, referring to the period from 2004 to 2014, he spoke about nationalism, the country’s culture and language, and said that these were not upheld by the government during that time. He did not question the nationalism or character of the Opposition anywhere… Secondly, leaders of the Opposition are saying they are not being allowed to speak, while they themselves are violating Rule 389. How do we want to run the House?” Shah added.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened, citing parliamentary rules that prohibit quoting from books or newspaper clippings on matters not directly related to House proceedings.“The defence minister, home minister and the Prime Minister raise questions on our party, party leaders, and our nationalism. This article writes about the PM’s character… This is neither about China, nor the PM,” Rahul said.Opposition members, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, accused the government of not allowing the LoP to complete his speech, leading to loud exchanges across the House. As the uproar intensified, Speaker Birla eventually adjourned the Lok Sabha.Earlier in the day, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, while seconding the Motion of Thanks, had launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led UPA government, describing the period from 2004 to 2014 as a “decade of lost opportunities” and a “narrative of excuses”. He argued that the contrast between “weak leadership” and “great leadership” clearly set apart the Congress and the BJP.
