NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "ran away" from making decisions, adding the Centre was "scared" of ex-Army chief MM Naravane's perspective of the 2020 Galwan clash.
Rahul was repeatedly denied permission to quote Naravane's unpublished memoir in Parliament, with Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh strongly objecting to the reference. "The point here is exactly what the Prime Minister said and what Rajnath Singh Ji said. Whether the land was taken or not, that's a different question. We'll come to that. But before we come to that, the leader of the country is supposed to give direction.
The leader of the country is not supposed to run away from decisions and leave decisions to other people's shoulders. That is what the Prime Minister has done," Rahul told reporters after the lower house was adjourned repeatedly amid uproar over his speech.
"I am not being allowed to speak. I just have to speak 2-3 lines. It is a matter of national security. These are the words of the Army Chief (former), and it is a conversation that he has had with Rajnath Singh ji and PM Modi.
All I am saying is that I want to say in the House what the Army Chief (former) has written and what orders did Rajnath Singh and PM Modi give him," he added.
'What happened to 56-inch chest when China was standing against us?'
Continuing his attack on the central government, Rahul said that the Army was "let down" by the political leadership during the Galwan clash. Rahul said that the PM and the defence minister was scared of "one line" that is there in the memoir which he was being denied to say, claiming that he would say it in the Parliament."They are scared of a line. There is one line in it that PM Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh are scared of. I will say that line inside Parliament, and no one will stop me," he said.
Citing Naravane's memoir which remains unpublished, Rahul asked why the Centre was "so scared what the Army Chief has to say?""We will learn something from it. Of course, we will learn something about a Prime Minister. We will learn something about Rajnath Singh ji.
But we will also learn something about the Army and how it was let down by the political leadership of the country. I'm saying that Naravane ji has clearly written about the Prime Minister and Rajnath Singh ji in his book," he said."It has appeared in an article. I am quoting the article. They are not letting me speak... They are scared because if it comes out, the reality of Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh will be revealed to the people and what happened to the 56-inch chest when China was standing against us, advancing?" he added.
Why the uproar?
The uproar in Parliament was triggered when Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from the unpublished “memoir” of former Army chief Gen M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict during the Motion of Thanks debate, drawing strong objections from defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP MPs, who accused him of “misleading the House.”Gandhi said he was responding to BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s remarks questioning the Congress’ nationalism and began citing what he claimed were excerpts from Naravane’s memoir on the 2020 India-China border clash.Despite repeated warnings from Speaker Om Birla that unpublished material could not be quoted, Gandhi insisted the document was authenticated, triggering sustained protests from the treasury benches. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju accused Gandhi of violating House rules, following which the Speaker adjourned the House multiple times amid continued deadlock.Also read: 'Can't India–China ties be discussed in House?' Mahua Moitra jabs Centre after Rahul Gandhi raises ex-Army chief memoir
What BJP said?
The BJP dismissed Rahul's claims as "misleading" with Amit Malviya sharing several videos of the ex-Army chief speaking on the Galwan clash."Not only of the PLA itself, but I feel it diminished the stature of China as a country in the global eyes. After this clash occurred and we showed that it is possible to stand up to China, who tries to bully its smaller neighbours. Once we did that, from Canada to Lithuanian to Europe to Phillipines everyone got that feeling that if you are fighting for what is correct, if you have a principled stand, it is possible to take a stand even against China.
And we don't have to always be cowed down by might that they try to project," Naravane was heard saying in one interview.In another, he confirmed that India had not lost even an "inch" of its territory to China. "Firstly, we haven't lost out on any territory. We are where we were before this whole thing started. As a result of this agreement, it has been reached on the principle of mutual and equal security. I think that should be the whole disengagement process. It serves the interests of both the countries to have agreed to a stable LAC without any confrontation taking place.
That should be the larger view of the deal," he said.
However, the videos shared by Malviya did not address Rahul's claim of PM running away from decision-making during the clash.
