Janjivan Bureau / NEW DELHI: A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, sought to quote from what he said was the memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah objecting on the grounds that the book has not yet been published.
As Gandhi rose to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the president’s address and began quoting from the book, Singh asked him to clarify whether the book had been published or not.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, including Congress MPs Tariq Anwar, Amarinder Raja Warring, Anto Antony, and Jothimani, will speak during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to reply on February 11. The Government has allotted 18 hours in the Lok Sabha for discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address to the joint session of Parliament during the Budget Session. The discussion will be held on February 2, 3, and 4.
The Congress leader insisted that the document was authenticated and he could quote from it. He said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP’s Tejasvi Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party.
Singh, however, maintained that the book had not been published.
Speaker Om Birla cited rules, saying no book or newspaper clipping can be quoted on a matter not related to the proceedings of the House.
Initiating the debate from the opposition’s side on the Motion of Thanks, Gandhi then said he was quoting from a magazine article to put forth his views.
The defence minister accused Gandhi of “misleading the House”.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav supported Gandhi and urged the Speaker to allow the Congress leader to speak.
