Rahul Gandhi's China remark sparks Lok Sabha uproar, Rajnath Singh challenges claim
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate on Monday, the fourth day of Parliament's Budget Session, as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh engaged in a heated exchange over the Doklam issue. Rajnath Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of misleading the House and questioned the credibility of his statements.
During the same discussion, Rahul Gandhi dismissed BJP MP Tejasvi Surya's accusations against the Congress party regarding Indian culture and said his party would respond. Rahul Gandhi then began speaking on the Doklam issue, citing a book by former Army Chief Manoj Naravane.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh immediately stood up at Rahul Gandhi's statement. He questioned whether the book being referred to had actually been published. Rajnath Singh said that the book had not been published, so it was inappropriate to make a statement based on it. This led to uproar in the House. The Speaker asked Rahul Gandhi to authenticate his source. Rahul Gandhi replied that the book was not being allowed to be published by the government, but it was "100% authentic."
Rajnath Singh then reiterated that Rahul Gandhi was misleading the House because the book he was referring to wasn't publicly available. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah said that Rahul Gandhi had himself ended the controversy by admitting that the book hadn't been published. Speaker Om Birla reminded the House that there was no tradition of discussing newspaper cuttings or unpublished books, and that the House's proceedings were conducted according to rules and procedures. He urged Rahul Gandhi to proceed.
Rahul Gandhi said he didn't want to raise the issue, but when allegations were leveled against the Congress party, he felt compelled to respond. He then again referred to Manoj Naravane's book. The Speaker reiterated that there is a right to speak in the House, but this right should be exercised within the rules and conventions. Throughout this incident, the House continued to be in an uproar.