Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over references to former Army chief General M M Naravane’s memoir, saying that if the Prime Minister attends the Lok Sabha, he would personally give him a copy of the book.
Gandhi’s remarks came a day after eight Opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha following disruptions in the House. The suspension followed tense scenes when Gandhi sought to read from the memoir but was asked by the Chair to allow other members to speak. A confrontation had also taken place on Monday when Gandhi spoke during the Prime Minister’s reply to the President’s address.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex while holding the memoir, Gandhi said he did not expect the Prime Minister to appear in the House, claiming that if Modi did attend, he would walk up to him and hand over the book so that he could read it and, in turn, the public could learn what he described as the truth, Indian Express reported.
Urging young people across the country to read the memoir, the Congress leader said the book, written by General Naravane, provided a detailed account of events in Ladakh. He added that he had been prevented from quoting from it in Parliament, and referred to what he described as a key line attributed to the Prime Minister, conveying that the Army should act as it deemed appropriate.
The exchange marked a further escalation in tensions between the government and the Opposition. On Tuesday, Gandhi intensified his criticism after being disallowed from referring to or discussing excerpts from Naravane’s unpublished memoir. He attempted to raise issues of national security by citing portions of Four Stars of Destiny, which were published in a recent essay in The Caravan. However, the Chair curtailed his remarks for not adhering to its directions and moved on to the next speaker.
In protest, Opposition members entered the Well of the House and threw papers towards the Speaker’s podium, prompting disciplinary action. Those suspended included seven Congress MPs — Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, Dean Kuriakose, Prasant Padole, Kiren Kumar Reddy and Manickam Tagore — along with CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan.