Rahul Gandhi reads ex-Army chief’s memoir, Rajnath Singh objects, then furious clash

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi present, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday stirred up a commotion by attempting to read parts from an unpublished book by former Army Chief General Manoj Naravane. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh all interrupted him.

When Parliament reconvened for the third time in the previous two hours, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his claims on the unpublished book of former Army chief Naravane, and the Lok Sabha was ultimately adjourned for the day.After the House reopened following two adjournments over Rahul Gandhi’s address in the past hour, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were no longer present.

Every time Rahul Gandhi tried to read passages from an unpublished book and quoted a magazine transcript of the memoir, the House was adjourned from 2 to 4:20 p.m., even though the Speaker had instructed him not to do so.After the third and final resumption, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the fact that ministers in the Narendra Modi government were not allowing him speak proved that they were “uncomfortable.”

When Rahul Gandhi originally stood up to address the Motion of Thanks to the President’s speech and ended up citing from the book, Rajnath Singh cut him off and asked if the book had been released.

“He should tell us if the said book has been published or not. It has not been published. He cannot claim to quote from it,” Rajnath Singh said. “I can say with confidence, the book has not been published.”

Home Minister Amit Shah also joined in and said, “When the book has not even been published, how can he (Rahul) quote from it?” “Newspaper clippings, books, or other such things that are not authentic cannot be cited in the House,” Shah said, requesting Rahul Gandhi to continue his speech without referencing the book.

Rahul Gandhi, however, insisted that The Caravan magazine had “100% genuine” excerpts from the book. “Rajnath ji is mentioned in it,” he said, while fellow Congress MPs urged the Speaker to allow him to quote the article. Congress MP KC Venugopal added, “They (government) can respond thereafter.”

Speaking in favor of the Leader of the Opposition, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said that topics relating to China are highly sensitive and underlined that Rahul Gandhi should be allowed to speak on the matter.  The House erupted into chaos after the objections. Opposition politicians condemned the disruptions, while MPs from the Treasury benches called for strict adherence to parliamentary procedures. After over 45 minutes of showdown, Parliament was delayed till 3 pm. Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh both met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during the adjournment of the House.