Oppn MPs to continue raising issue of Gen Naravane's unpublished 'memoirs'

Eight Opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha amid uproar over Rahul Gandhi's attempt to cite former Army chief M M Naravane's unpublished memoir

After eight Opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the rest of the Budget session for “unruly behaviour” on Tuesday, sources in the Opposition said their MPs would continue to raise the issue of unpublished ‘memoirs’ of former Army chief General M M Naravane for the remainder of the session.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply to the discussion on the motion of thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address on Wednesday.

 

On Tuesday, as the Lok Sabha resumed the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address at 2 pm, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi rose to speak. He authenticated a copy of an article which cited former army chief Naravane's unpublished 'memoir'.

 

To authenticate a document, a member has to submit a signed copy of it affirming that it is correct to the best of his knowledge.

 

Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the House, asked Gandhi to table it and said: “We will examine it and get back.”

 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Speaker passed a ruling on the matter and after that Gandhi should not raise the issue repeatedly. Gandhi insisted he is the Leader of Opposition and takes objection to the term 'permission' when he has to speak.

 

The chair then called out the names of other speakers even as Gandhi kept standing. While three Opposition MPs refused to speak in solidarity with Gandhi, Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, got up to speak.

 

This had Congress and other Opposition MPs enter the well of the House, some of whom tried to climb on to the table of the Secretary General, tore papers and threw them at the Chair. Tenneti adjourned the proceedings till 3 pm.

 

As soon as the House met at 3 pm following multiple adjournments, Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named the eight MPs, including seven from Congress and one from Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M).

 

Kiren Rijiju read out a resolution seeking suspension of the eight members for the remaining period of the Budget session, which concludes on April 2.

 

Rijiju said the members acted in utter disregard to the House and the authority of the Chair. They also tore papers and threw these on the Chair and were named by the Chair for their behaviour, the minister added.

 

The suspended members are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan (CPI-M).

 

The House passed the resolution by a voice vote, following which the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar. Congress members, led by Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest outside Parliament building against the suspension of party members. Later, Opposition MPs said the suspended members will continue to protest outside the House.

 

Tenneti, who was in the Chair earlier during the day, told the media that one member addressed the Chair as "yaar" and at that moment he took a stand and questioned the MP.

 

Later in the day, in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Gandhi lodged his strong protest for disallowing him to speak in the House on a matter of national security and termed it a "blot" on our democracy.

 

“Preventing me from speaking in the Lok Sabha today (Tuesday) not only violates this convention, but also gives rise to a serious concern that there is a deliberate attempt to prevent me, in my capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, from speaking on matters of national security. It is worth repeating that national security was a key part of the President's address, which requires a discussion in Parliament,” Gandhi told Birla in his letter.

 

A row had erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday when Gandhi sought to quote from an unpublished 'memoir' of the former army chief on the 2020 India-China conflict, but faced strong opposition from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other BJP members who accused the Congress leader of misleading the House.

 

Om Birla disallowed Gandhi from raising the issue, but he did not relent and several Opposition leaders also rallied behind him. The House was adjourned twice, and later, for the day amid uproar as heated exchanges took place between the treasury and Opposition benches.