The Budget Session of Parliament slipped into chaos on Monday after a heated face-off erupted over national security, parliamentary rules, and freedom of debate. At the centre of the storm was Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, whose attempt to quote from an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane (retd) triggered sharp objections from the treasury benches and led to repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha.
What began as a routine discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address soon snowballed into one of the most contentious moments of the session, ultimately forcing the House to be adjourned for the day. The Lok Sabha is scheduled to reconvene at 11 am on Tuesday.
What Triggered the Rahul Gandhi-Naravane Memoir Controversy?
The controversy unfolded when Rahul Gandhi rose to respond to remarks by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who had questioned the Congress party’s stance on nationalism. Seeking to counter the charge, Gandhi said he wanted to refer to passages linked to the India-China border situation, which he attributed to a memoir written by former Army chief Gen MM Naravane.
Almost immediately, members of the ruling party objected strongly. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh questioned whether the material Gandhi was quoting had been officially published or authenticated. He told the House that citing unpublished content was against parliamentary norms and accused the Congress leader of misleading Parliament.
Speaker Om Birla intervened and ruled that unpublished books or magazine articles not directly related to the proceedings could not be read out in the House. The ruling, however, failed to calm tempers.
Despite the Speaker’s ruling, Rahul Gandhi maintained that the excerpts he was referring to were authentic and had already appeared in a published magazine article that cited the memoir. This assertion led to louder protests from the treasury benches, counter-sloganeering from the Opposition, and repeated disruptions of the proceedings.
The deadlock dragged on for nearly half an hour, paralysing the House and forcing multiple adjournments before proceedings were finally suspended for the day.
BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Violating House Rules
Following the adjournment, senior BJP leaders came out strongly against Rahul Gandhi. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the Leader of Opposition of repeatedly defying the Speaker’s ruling and violating House rules.
Rijiju said Gandhi had ignored the Chair from the very beginning and continued to repeat the same issue even after being cautioned. According to him, this resulted in a complete waste of valuable parliamentary time.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh also criticised Gandhi’s conduct, calling it “childish behaviour” and saying the dignity of the House demanded strict adherence to the agenda under discussion. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal went further, describing the episode as unprecedented and embarrassing, and demanded action against Gandhi for continuing to speak despite repeated warnings.
Opposition Backs Rahul Gandhi on National Security Issue
The Opposition closed ranks in defence of Rahul Gandhi, accusing the government of deliberately stifling debate on issues of national security. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Gandhi was not attempting to defame the armed forces and was merely referring to an account attributed to a former Army chief.
Shashi Tharoor echoed the sentiment, stating that the article in question did not blame soldiers or the armed forces but raised questions about decisions taken, or not taken, by the central government. According to Tharoor, the government’s reaction was unnecessary and excessive.
Deepender Singh Hooda termed it unfortunate that the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to speak on a matter as crucial as national security and expressed hope that the Speaker would ensure fairness.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused the government of blocking scrutiny instead of answering substantive questions related to Doklam, Ladakh, and India-China relations. He said suppressing such issues amounted to silencing matters of public interest.
Opposition Leaders Warn of Declining Parliamentary Democracy
Leaders from other Opposition parties also weighed in. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged that Parliament was steadily losing its democratic character, while Mahua Moitra claimed that Opposition voices were being intimidated both inside and outside Parliament. She cited restrictions faced by people at Banga Bhawan in Delhi as an example of shrinking democratic space.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav urged the Speaker to allow Rahul Gandhi to speak, stressing that issues related to China were sensitive and deserved serious discussion rather than disruption.
Rahul Gandhi Responds to Memoir Controversy
Amid the uproar inside the House, Rahul Gandhi asserted that national security was the most important issue facing the country and should not be curtailed in parliamentary debate. He said the matter appeared to have made the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister uncomfortable and questioned why he was not being allowed to speak.
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Gandhi reiterated his stance while speaking to reporters outside Parliament. He insisted that he was not expressing personal opinions but referring to the former Army chief’s account, which he claimed was not being allowed to be published.
Gandhi questioned why the government seemed reluctant to discuss what a former Army chief had to say and suggested that the contents of the memoir could offer important lessons about political leadership, defence preparedness, and decision-making during moments of crisis.
He further maintained that he was quoting from a published article that cited the memoir and accused the government of being fearful of the truth coming out. According to him, allowing an open discussion would reveal uncomfortable realities about how the India-China situation was handled.
Lok Sabha Adjourned as Political Standoff Continues
With neither side willing to back down, the impasse brought parliamentary business to a standstill. The repeated adjournments underscored the deep political fault lines over national security, freedom of speech in Parliament, and the interpretation of House rules.
As the Lok Sabha prepares to reconvene, the Rahul Gandhi-Naravane memoir controversy is likely to continue dominating the political discourse, raising larger questions about transparency, accountability, and the space available for Opposition voices in India’s Parliament.
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