Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited former Army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished “memoir” to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil his responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020 and passed the buck on to Naravane.
Addressing reporters on the premises of Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up Naravane’s unpublished ‘memoir’ and said he wanted the youngsters in India to know that this ‘book’ exists despite the government claiming otherwise.
“The Speaker has said this book does not exist, the government has said it does not exist, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ji has said this book does not exist. Every youngster in India should see this book,” Gandhi said.
He said Naravane has written the full account of what happened in Ladakh along the border with China.
Gandhi said he had been told that he could not quote from this “memoir” in the Lok Sabha.
“The main line is what the PM said – ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’. When the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Naravane, called Rajnath Singh and said, ‘Chinese tanks have come, what should we do? Rajnath Singh did not reply to him at first. He (Naravane) asked S Jaishankar, NSA (Ajit Doval), Rajnath Singh, but did not get a reply,” the Congress leader said, citing the “memoir”.
“He (Naravane) again called Rajnath Singh ji, who said, ‘I will ask from the top’. There was a standing order from the top that if ‘Chinese forces come in, then you should not fire on them without our permission’. Naravane ji and our army wanted to fire on those tanks because they had entered our territory,” he said.
“Narendra Modi gave the message – ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’. Meaning he did not fulfil his responsibility. ‘Unhone army chief se kaha aapko jo karna hai karo meri bas ki nahi hai’ (He told the army chief, you do whatever you want, it is beyond me),” Gandhi said, citing the memoir.
The former Congress chief further said the Army chief has written that he felt alone and was abandoned by the entire establishment. “This is what they are scared of me saying in Parliament,” Gandhi said.
“I don’t think the PM will have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today. If he comes, I am going to give him this book,” he said.
The government-opposition faceoff in the Lok Sabha intensified on Tuesday as eight protesting MPs were suspended for “unruly behaviour” after Gandhi was again denied permission to quote an article citing an unpublished “memoir” by Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha today, 4 January – a day after eight Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) were suspended amid repeated disruptions in the House, news agencies reported, quoting sources.
The prime minister is scheduled to speak at 5 PM, according to agencies and news reports. The Opposition disrupted the Budget Session of Parliament proceedings in the Lok Sabha for the last two days during the discussion on the President’s Address, leading to adjournments.
The MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session, which ends on April 2, for trying to climb on the table of the secretary general, tearing papers and hurling them at the Chair.
‘Narendra Modi gave the message – ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’… He told the army chief, you do whatever you want, it is beyond me.’
Rahul Gandhi has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, lodging his strong protest over being disallowed from speaking in the House on a matter of national security and terming it a “blot on our democracy”. He has also said that it was for the first time in history that the LoP was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.
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