New Delhi, Feb 2 — The Lok Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions on Monday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi attempted to refer to former Army chief General M M Naravane’s memoir during a debate on the President’s Address, prompting strong objections from the government and interventions by the Speaker.
The confrontation began when Gandhi, responding to BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s remarks questioning the Congress’s patriotism, raised concerns over India’s handling of China and cited reports linked to Naravane’s yet-to-be-published book.
Gandhi said the issue of nationalism could not be reduced to slogans and referred to what he described as serious national security concerns, including claims about Chinese military movement in sensitive areas.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh immediately objected, saying only authenticated and published material could be cited in Parliament.
“He is referring to a book that has not even been published. Such material cannot be treated as authentic,” Singh said.
Home Minister Amit Shah backed the objection, stating that unpublished books and magazine reports could not be quoted. “Anything can be written in such publications,” Shah said.
Speaker Om Birla ruled that House rules do not permit quoting books or articles unrelated to official parliamentary records and warned Gandhi against referring to the material.
The controversy revolves around Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny, which is under review by the Ministry of Defence and has reportedly touched on sensitive issues including the 2020 India-China border standoff.
As interruptions continued, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav supported Gandhi, saying the China issue was sensitive and the Leader of Opposition should be allowed to speak.
Union Minister Kiran Rijiju opposed the move, insisting that the Speaker’s ruling must be followed.
Shah again intervened, reminding the House that the discussion was on the President’s Address, not on unpublished material.
Gandhi argued that the President’s Address covered national security and foreign relations and questioned why he was being restricted from discussing India-China relations.
“The Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Home Minister allowed attacks on my party’s patriotism, but I am being stopped from raising national security concerns,” Gandhi said.
The Speaker cited parliamentary rules requiring prior written notice for allegations against ministers.
The standoff eventually forced the Speaker to adjourn the House till 3 pm.