The Lok Sabha witnessed fierce scenes and prolonged pandemonium on Monday as the opposition and treasury benches locked horns over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's reference to an "unpublished" memoir of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address.
Repeated attempts by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to restore order failed as Congress members insisted on quoting from Naravane's memoirs, while the government strongly objected, calling it political "theatrics" and a violation of parliamentary rules.
The ruckus erupted when Rahul Gandhi began his speech by targeting the Centre over a magazine article that cited excerpts from the former Army chief's memoir, particularly in relation to the India–China standoff in Ladakh. His remarks drew immediate objections from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Gandhi accused the BJP of questioning the Congress party's patriotism while allegedly blocking the publication of a book written by a senior Armed Forces officer. As he attempted to quote lines from the memoir, loud protests erupted from the treasury benches.
Rajnath Singh objected strongly, stating that the claims were vague and could not be cited as the book had not yet been published. Speaker Om Birla reiterated that quoting from unpublished material was against House rules and urged members to refrain from raising unverified subjects, warning that it would amount to a breach of parliamentary norms.
"What is the government scared of?" Gandhi asked, doubling down on his charge as opposition MPs resorted to slogan-shouting. Amit Shah intervened, urging the Speaker to direct the LoP to stop misleading the House with what he described as falsified claims, noting that a magazine could write anything and that it was unclear whether the quotes were authentic.
The uproar intensified after Gandhi claimed that Chinese tanks were advancing towards the Indian border, prompting sharp reactions from Union ministers and BJP MPs, who cited the parliamentary rulebook. Despite repeated interventions, chaos and pandemonium continued in the House.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav came out in support of Gandhi, saying that the China border issue was extremely sensitive and that the LoP should be allowed to speak if he had concerns in the national interest.
Congress MPs also accused the Speaker of bias, alleging that ruling party members had been allowed to make false claims on the Nehru era in the past without objection.
As the standoff continued, Speaker Om Birla maintained that parliamentary procedures must be followed, but the House remained disrupted amid a continuing war of words between the opposition and the treasury benches over the Ladakh issue and the alleged unpublished memoir.
(With inputs from IANS)
