Row erupts in Lok Sabha as Rahul Gandhi seeks to quote from memoir of General Naravane

A row erupted in Lok Sabha on Monday after Rahul Gandhi, the leader of th Opposition sought to quote from 'memoir' of former Army chief M M Naravane.

As Rahul started speaking, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah objected on the grounds that the book has not yet been published, and accused him of "misleading" the House.

As Gandhi rose to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the president's address, he said he would first like to respond to the charges made by the previous speaker, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, against the Congress on nationalism and began quoting from what he stated was the "memoir" of Gen Naravane.

Responding to Tejasvi Surya's allegation, Gandhi said, "A young colleague over there made an allegation against the Congress Party. I was not going to raise this issue, but because he has raised the issue about our patriotism, our understanding of Indian culture, I'd like to start by reading something. And this is from the memoir of Army Chief Naravane. And I'd like you to listen nicely. You will understand exactly who is patriotic, who is not."

Rajnath Singh asked Rahul if the book has been published or not. 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 Tejasvi Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi said, "What does it contain which is scaring them so much? If they are not scared, I should be allowed to read on."

Speaker Om Birla said that no book, newspaper clipping can be quoted on a matter that is not related to the proceedings in the House. However, Rahul stated that the document was authenticated and that he could quote from it.

Government sources said Rahul Gandhi was reading "concocted things" on China. They said that there was so much in the public domain about what India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, did on China as he "surrendered thousands of acres of land just to further his own statesmanship."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then said if the opposition ignores Speaker's words and does not follow the rules, the House will have to discuss about action that needs to be taken against the leader.

"We should also discuss what should be done with a member who doesn't obey the Speaker's ruling in Lok Sabha," Rijiju said as LoP Rahul Gandhi continued raise the unlisted issue of China and attempts to quote from a magazine article in contravention of House rules.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav supported Gandhi and urged the Speaker to allow the Congress leader to speak.

(With agencies inputs)