A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished “memoir” of former Army chief Gen (retd) M.M. Naravane but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of “misleading” the House.

As Mr. Gandhi rose to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, he said he would first like to respond to the charges made by the previous speaker, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, against the Congress on nationalism and began quoting from what he stated was the “memoir” of Gen. Naravane.

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However, Mr. Singh strongly protested this and asked Mr. Gandhi to clarify whether the book had been published or not.

The uproar went on for about 50 minutes with Speaker Om Birla repeatedly stating that no book or newspaper clipping can be quoted on a matter not related to the proceedings of the House, and Gandhi insisting that the document was authenticated and he could quote from it.

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Mr. Gandhi said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP’s Tejasvi Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party. Mr. Singh maintained that the book had not been published.

Mr. Gandhi then said he was quoting from a magazine article to put forth his views. The Speaker disallowed it, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called for the Speaker’s ruling to be adhered to.

Mr. Rijiju said if the leader of the Opposition repeatedly ignores the Speaker’s ruling and flouts rules, the House will have to discuss what action should be taken against such a member.

The Minister said Mr. Gandhi was setting a wrong example for young MPs by not following the rules of the House.

With Mr. Gandhi unrelenting, the Speaker repeatedly warned him against quoting the book.

Mr. Singh then got up and asked if the book was not allowed to be published as alleged, then why didn’t Naravane go to court against it. The Defence Minister also accused Mr. Gandhi of “misleading the House”.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav supported Mr. Gandhi and urged the Speaker to allow the Congress leader to speak.

Rajya Sabha 2pm session on President’s address on Budget in New Delhi Parliament https://t.co/P2RSawW0to

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) February 2, 2026

With both the treasury and Opposition MPs unrelenting, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 p.m.

Not being allowed to quote as it indicts PM, Defence Minister, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was not being allowed to quote from former army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished book in the Lok Sabha because it indicts Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for “letting down” the army during the 2020 conflict with China.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex in New Delhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the government is afraid of a line that he wants to quote from the former army chief’s book and asserted that he would state it in the Lower House.

पूर्व सेना प्रमुख का बयान उजागर कर देगा कि मोदी जी और राजनाथ जी ने सेना को कैसे निराश किया।

अपने पर्दाफ़ाश के डर से वो मुझे संसद में बोलने नहीं दे रहे। pic.twitter.com/RfznNHSLmx

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 2, 2026

“Naravane ji has written about the prime minister and Rajnath Singh ji clearly in his book, which has appeared in an article and I am quoting from that article. They are scared because if it comes out, the reality of Narendra Modi ji and Rajnath Singh ji will be revealed. What happened to the 56-inch chest when China was before us and advancing?” Mr. Gandhi said.

Mr. Gandhi’s remarks came after a row erupted in Lok Sabha when he sought to quote from a “memoir” of the former army chief on the 2020 India-China conflict but faced strong opposition from the defence minister and other BJP members who accused the Congress leader of misleading the House, leading to uproar and adjournment of proceedings for the day.

“I just have to say two-three lines which will reveal everything, but they are not allowing me to speak. I am saying that it is a matter of national security. These are the words of the Army chief, a serious leader of our forces. It is a conversation he has had with Rajnath Singh ji and also with Narendra Modi ji.

“All I want to say in the House is what the army chief has written, what Modi ji told him, what Rajnath Singh told him, what order they gave. I don’t know why they are so scared,” Mr. Gandhi said.

On Naravane’s reported remarks that not an inch of land had been lost to China, Mr. Gandhi said that was not the issue and what mattered was what the prime minister and the defence minister said.

“Whether the land was taken or not is a separate question, we will 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 on other people’s shoulders, that is what the PM has done,” Mr. Gandhi alleged.

Calling it the Army chief’s perspective, Mr. Gandhi asked why the government was afraid of it.

“This is the army chief…the book is not being allowed to be published, it is languishing. This is the army chief’s perspective, it is his view,” he said.

“Why are they so scared of what the army chief has to say. We will learn something from it. Of course, we will learn something about the PM, we will learn something about Rajnath Singh ji, but we will also learn something about the army and how they were let down by the political leadership of the country,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said her brother would authenticate what he is saying and asserted that rules permit quoting from a published source, adding that the material Gandhi referred to had been published in an article.

Published – February 02, 2026 02:55 pm IST