'Exposed itself by objecting': Oppn backs Rahul on Naravane memoir row, BJP calls Lok Sabha showdown 'embarrassing'

Rahul Gandhi during his speech in Lok Sabha

• Rahul Gandhi's memoir reference causes Lok Sabha uproar.
• Govt insisted on quoting only authenticated documents, causing repeated clashes.
• Congress defended Gandhi, alleging debate suppression on national security issues.

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Noisy scenes erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi (LoP) sought to quote from what he described as an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

“This is not me, this is what the Army Chief (former) has written in a book. The book is not being allowed to be published. It is languishing, and this is the Army Chief's perspective,” Gandhi said. “Why are they so scared of the Army Chief's perspective? Why are they so scared of what the Army Chief has to say?”

As Gandhi began referring to a magazine article that allegedly carried excerpts from the memoir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh objected strongly. “I want that LoP, Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi), should present before the House the book he is quoting from, because the book he is referring to has not been published,” he said, questioning the authenticity of the material.

Home Minister Amit Shah also intervened, asking Gandhi whether the book he was citing had been published. Speaker Om Birla ruled that only authenticated documents could be quoted and asked Gandhi to restrict himself to the subject of the President’s address.

Rahul Gandhi presses his point

Despite repeated interruptions, Gandhi argued that the issue went beyond procedure.

“They are scared because if it comes out, the reality of Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh will be revealed to the people, and what happened to the 56-inch chest when China was standing against us, advancing?” he said.

Later, Gandhi added, “They are scared of a line. There is one line in it that PM Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are scared of. I will say that line inside Parliament, and no one will stop me.”

He insisted that his remarks concerned national security. “I just have to speak 2-3 lines. It is a matter of national security. These are the words of the Army Chief (former), and it is a conversation that he has had with Rajnath Singh ji and PM Modi. All I am saying is that I want to say in the House what the Army Chief (former) has written and what orders did Rajnath Singh and PM Modi give him.”

Government cites rules, accuses defiance

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Gandhi of flouting the Speaker’s ruling. “Speaker Om Birla had ruled in the House that only authenticated documents can be quoted,” Rijiju told reporters. He added that Gandhi “repeated the same mistake” and “wasted” the time of the House.

“Our party initiated the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. All of us were seated to hear the speech of LoP Rahul Gandhi. But right from the beginning, Rahul Gandhi flouted rules and started quoting from a book whose publication and authenticity of a book is not clearly mentioned,” Rijiju said. “One cannot challenge the Chair. Even after the ruling of Lok Sabha Speaker, Rahul Gandhi kept repeating the same mistake.”

Union Minister Giriraj Singh called Gandhi’s conduct “indiscipline” and said, “Despite being the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi was undermining the dignity of the House.”

BJP MP Dilip Saikia alleged that Gandhi was “trying to mislead and spread confusion in the nation” and accused him of lowering the morale of the army.

Opposition leaders back Gandhi

Congress leaders rallied behind Gandhi, arguing that he was citing material already in the public domain.

Shashi Tharoor said, “What Rahul ji wished to raise was a matter that is already in the public domain. He was basing himself on a published article in the Caravan magazine, which quotes a memoir by General Naravane that is still unpublished. The government, instead of objecting… should have let him speak.”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “It should be from a published source, either from a book or a magazine. This is an excerpt from the book and it has been published. There is no unauthenticated source in this… What is the problem then? Why are they scared?”

Karti Chidambaram went further, stating, “I have never seen a government so vehemently opposing a quote from a former army chief, a respected soldier who spent his entire life defending us… Obviously there are some very, very deep truths in it, which are embarrassing to the leadership of this government.”

KC Venugopal accused the government of distorting rules. “He quoted an article in a magazine which narrating the government inefficiency clearly on dealing with the border issues… When Rahul Gandhi says all these things, he becomes anti-national. Actually, they are distorting the parliamentary rules.”

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that the "government has, in a way, exposed itself by objecting." According to Jha, "in a healthy democracy, in a country like India, the concern shouldn't be whether the truth will come out. The concern should be what will be done after the truth comes out". He pointed out if Gandhi had been allowed to speak, this wouldn't have become such big news.

Backing Gandhi, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav argued that the issue went beyond procedural technicalities.

“The matter relating to China is very sensitive. LoP, Lok Sabha should be allowed to speak,” Yadav said, recalling that past leaders had repeatedly warned about Beijing’s intentions.

Gandhi, in turn, accused senior ministers of questioning the Opposition’s patriotism.

“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...” he said, before being interrupted again.

At that point, the Speaker objected and called the next speaker, Akhilesh Yadav, bringing Gandhi’s remarks to an abrupt halt.

Differing narratives on China and Doklam

Rajya Sabha MP Harsh V Shringla countered Gandhi’s assertions. “I know that whatever efforts were made, our army held its position and because of this, we can say today that China did not advance in any area during this attempt.”

Congress MP Jothimani said, “They are not allowing Rahul ji to spell the word China. Why are they so afraid of China and what China has tried to do on our border?”

Abhishek Manu Singhvi asked, “What core issue did Rahul Gandhi raise? He raised the issues of Doklam, China, India-China relations, Ladakh, etc. Leave aside the answer; you never allow any question to be raised.”

Repeated adjournments and mounting tempers

Amid continuous sloganeering, the House was adjourned multiple times. When proceedings resumed at 4 pm, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal was in the Speaker’s chair and allowed Gandhi to speak. Before resumption of House proceedings as Speaker, Pal spoke to news agency ANI and criticised Gandhi saying "action should be taken against them."

Pal said, "this must have happened for the first time since Independance that someone was asked to stop doing the same thing five times." He accused Gandhi of having "planned to do this (raising Doklam issue) and dubbed his address to be "embarrassing and condemnable."

As the House resume, Gandhi once again raised the China issue. As Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi spoke in support of Gandhi, Pal said that as an MP, he knew parliamentary propriety and procedure, and asked Gandhi why he could not speak on issues mentioned in the President’s address, such as roads, transport, and development.

Gandhi responded that national security was the most important issue for him and that he understood why the Prime Minister and Defence Minister would be uncomfortable, but he should be allowed to raise the matter.

Gandhi also said the Home Minister and Defence Minister had “escaped”, prompting Rijiju to object that Gandhi was using language "as if they had escaped from jail". Gandhi retorted, asking how the word “bhagna” was unparliamentary, and continued attempting to speak on China.

Before resumption of the House, Gandhi told ANI, “I want to speak in the House. I don't know why they are scared. The point here is exactly what the Prime Minister said and what Rajnath Singh Ji said.”

When asked if he would try again after adjournment, Gandhi replied, “Yeah. I am going to try and speak.”

Behind-the-scenes meetings took place between Congress leaders and separately among senior ministers and the Speaker, but the standoff continued.

Amid the renewed uproar, the Lok Sabha was adjourned to meet again at 11 am tomorrow.