Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 2: The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp disruptions on Monday after leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi brought up the India–China border standoff, triggering strong objections from the treasury benches, who argued that his remarks violated parliamentary rules.
Speaking during the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Gandhi hit back at BJP MP Tejasvi Surya for allegedly questioning the Congress party’s patriotism. He asserted that there should be no contest over national loyalty and declared that the party’s patriotism “is not buried.” In the course of his remarks, Gandhi referred to observations attributed to former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane regarding the Ladakh standoff.
The reference immediately drew objections from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who questioned whether the former Army chief’s book—being quoted by Gandhi—had been officially published. Singh maintained that if the book was unpublished, it could not be cited in the House.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla backed this position, stating that quoting from unpublished books goes against parliamentary rules. This ruling sparked loud protests from opposition members.
Home minister Amit Shah then intervened, contending that the remarks attributed to General Naravane were not necessarily from his book and could have been written by a magazine. He asked Gandhi to clarify whether the book had, in fact, been published.
Gandhi responded by insisting that his source was credible, claiming it carried excerpts from the former Army chief’s unpublished memoirs. He further alleged that Naravane had suggested the government was attempting to block the book’s publication. Citing the magazine report, Gandhi said it specifically mentioned defence minister Rajnath Singh.
As opposition MPs protested what they described as attempts to prevent the LoP from speaking, Gandhi persisted with his argument, reiterating that he would continue to raise the issue based on what he described as an authentic publication.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav voiced support for Gandhi, stressing that the China issue was highly sensitive and that any matter raised in the national interest by the Leader of Opposition deserved to be heard in Parliament.