LS adjourned amid row over Rahul Gandhi quoting unpublished Naravane memoir on Ladakh standoff
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm amid noisy scenes on Monday afternoon after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s speech was repeatedly interrupted by the treasury benches over his reference to an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
The disruption began during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address when Gandhi began quoting from the former Army chief’s memoirs, prompting objections from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Rajnath Singh objected to the citation, stating that unpublished material could not be quoted on the floor of the House and was against parliamentary convention.
Home Minister Amit Shah supported the objection, urging Gandhi to rely only on officially published sources. “Magazines can publish anything,” Shah said, arguing that references lacking formal publication should not form part of parliamentary records.
The objections triggered brief disorder in the House, with Opposition members protesting the interruption and accusing the Treasury benches of stifling debate.
Rahul Gandhi defended his remarks, asserting that the source he cited was authentic and based on the unpublished memoirs of General Naravane.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav also backed Rahul Gandhi, urging the Chair to allow him to continue speaking on issues related to China during the debate.
Yadav said the subject of China was highly sensitive and deserved serious discussion in the House. He argued that the LoP should not be interrupted while raising concerns linked to national security and foreign policy.
According to a report, the Budget Session was marked by sharp disruptions in the Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi quoted passages he said were drawn from the unpublished memoirs of former Army chief General M M Naravane during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. The remarks prompted strong objections from the treasury benches, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh questioning the credibility of the source and arguing that citing material reported in a magazine violated parliamentary norms.
Responding to the objections, Gandhi maintained that his source was reliable and that the excerpts he referred to had appeared in a published magazine based on General Naravane’s memoirs. He said he had raised the issue only after a ruling party MP made allegations against the Congress, adding that he would not have otherwise referred to the memoir.
The exchange escalated into prolonged disorder in the House, with repeated interruptions and sloganeering from both sides. Despite the uproar, Gandhi continued his speech while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the Lok Sabha.