New Delhi: On Monday, February 2, the Lok Sabha witnessed a huge ruckus after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi quoted a former Indian Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir carrying excerpts from the book’s typescript, mentioning “Chinese tanks in Doklam.”
Notably, as soon as Rahul Gandhi began quoting the book, a swift interjection followed from Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who objected to it. The Congress leader quoted the ex-army chief, leading to the ruckus, while seeking to counter the BJP’s charge of the Congress not being patriotic.
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Rahul Gandhi began his speech by holding out a magazine article on the unpublished book on the Ladakh stand-off between India and China that erupted in May 2020. As Rahul Gandhi repeatedly tried to initiate a conversation on the book, he was summarily shot down by not just the Defense Minister, but also by Home Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Congress leader should tell the Sabha if the said book has been published or not, adding that it has not been published yet, and hence cannot claim to quote from it. Home Minister Amit Shah also got up quickly, reiterating that when the book has not even been published, how can he (Rahul) quote from it?”
Speaker Om Birla too echoed the ministers’ views, stating, “Rules and conventions, too, say newspaper clippings, books, other such things that are not authentic cannot be cited in the House.” Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi insisted that The Caravan magazine had “100% genuine” excerpts of the book.
