Lok Sabha Row Over Rahul Gandhi’s Quote from Ex-Army Chief’s Memoir
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi today mentioned the comments written by former Army Chief MM Naravane in his book in Parliament. This caused a ruckus in the Lok Sabha. Union Minister Rajnath Singh said that Rahul was making comments from an unpublished book. Rahul Gandhi’s speech was interrupted. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke during the discussion on the Union Budget. However, Rahul Gandhi mentioned the comments written by former Army Chief Naravane in his book on the China issue in his speech. He showed the pages published in a magazine in the House. Rahul said that the reference was in a way that made his argument true. The ruling party opposed those comments. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah intervened and asked whether the book that Rahul was talking about had been published yet.
Rajnath Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of violating the House Rules. He asked how he could comment on a book that was not being promoted. He said how much truth there was in that book. At that time, there was an argument between Rahul and Rajnath. Rahul said that he was mentioning very reliable information. However, Rajnath demanded that the book from which those comments were taken be introduced in the House. He said that the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul, should introduce that book in the House.
Akhilesh Yadav spoke in support of Rahul Gandhi. Akhilesh demanded that Rahul be given an opportunity to discuss the China issue. He said that the China issue is very sensitive and that the issue should be discussed seriously in the House. He said that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha should not be interrupted while expressing concerns on national security and foreign policy. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that members should not mention magazine or newspaper articles during the proceedings of the House. However, Rahul Gandhi said that he has the right to speak on Indo-China relations and no rules can stop him. Rahul asked the Speaker to tell him what rules are preventing him from speaking on relations with China.
