Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre for avoiding national security discussions, citing ex-Army Chief Gen Naravane's memoir. He alleged the PM left the army alone during the 2020 China crisis and was stopped from speaking on it in Parliament.
Gandhi Accuses Centre of 'Avoiding Scrutiny' on China Crisis
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Centre of avoiding scrutiny on national security, after he was repeatedly stopped from speaking in Parliament while citing former Army Chief General MM Naravane's "memoir". He said he would present a book to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming it exposes how political leadership left the army to act alone during the 2020 China border crisis.
In a post on X, the Congress leader wrote, "Today, if the Prime Minister comes to Parliament, I will present him with a book. This book is not by any opposition leader. This book is not by any foreign author. This book is by the country's former Army Chief, General Naravane, and the surprising thing is that, according to the Cabinet Ministers, this book does not even exist."
आज अगर प्रधानमंत्री संसद में आते हैं, तो मैं उन्हें एक किताब भेंट करूंगा। यह किताब किसी विपक्षी नेता की नहीं है। यह किताब किसी विदेशी लेखक की नहीं है। यह किताब है देश के पूर्व सेना प्रमुख जनरल नरवणे की - और हैरानी की बात यह है कि यह किताब कैबिनेट मंत्रियों के हिसाब से मौजूद ही… pic.twitter.com/xKzh0wPdni — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 4, 2026
"This book clearly states that when the Chinese army had entered our border, in such a critical moment, the Army Chief was made to wait. And when the time came to take a decision, the Prime Minister simply said, "Do whatever you think is appropriate." In other words, in the most serious crisis of the country's security, Modi ji raised his hands from political responsibility. General Naravane himself writes that at that time he felt the political leadership had left the army alone. This is the very truth for speaking which I am being stopped in Parliament. The country is asking questions, and the government is running away from answering," the post read.
Lok Sabha Adjourned, 8 Opposition MPs Suspended
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm today amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition members over the suspension of eight MPs during the previous day's Budget Session.
The suspended MPs include Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose, as well as CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan.
Eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)