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8 Congress MPs suspended in Lok Sabha amid chaos over ex-army chief Naravane's memoir cited by Rahul Gandhi
Congress members, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest outside Parliament building against suspension of party members from the Lok Sabha.
Eight Congress MPs were suspended in Lok Sabha on Tuesday over unruly behaviour after to straight days of chaos in the House over the unpublished memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane's account on the India-China conflict, cited by Rahul Gandhi.
The suspended eight MPs are: Manickam Tagore, Kiran Reddy, Prashant Padole, Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurjeet Aujla, S Venkat Raman and Dean Kuriakose.
Congress members, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest outside Parliament building against suspension of party members from the Lok Sabha.
The unpublished memoir in question pertains to the content of an article in Caravan magazine on former army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane’s account that seemed to suggest that the political leadership appeared indecisive during the face-off between India and China in 2020.
Lok Sabha saw two days of showdown between opposition MPs, led by LoP Rahul Gandhi, over the unpublished memoir, part of Naravane’s book which was supposed to be published in January 2024. After an extract appeared in December 2023, its publication was deferred because it had not received clearance from the army.
In October of last year, Naravane said the book was still being reviewed by the army.
Lok Sabha ruckus over Naravane memoir
On Monday, the Lok Sabha saw an unusual stand-off for over 40 minutes wit disagreements and Speaker Om Birla citing rules 349 and 353, ordering that any random material cannot be cited in the House. The Lok Sabha speaker also said that if a lawmaker wants to level charges against another MP, advance notices are required.
Gandhi refused to relent, defying Birla’s ruling and tried to mention the issue. Every time Gandhi spoke about China or the former army chief, the Speaker and senior ministers stopped him on technical grounds. In parliamentary practice, the Speaker’s ruling is considered as the verdict in a dispute.
It was also pointed out to Gandhi that the topic was not related to the subject –– the President’s speech.
The issue resurfaced on Tuesday in Lok Sabha when Rahul Gandhi authenticated a copy of an article in the House which cited former army chief MM Naravane's unpublished 'memoir'.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.
As the impasse continued, Krishna Prasad Tenneti was also seen reprimanding the opposition leaders for referring to the Chair as “yaar”.
"What did you say just now… what is this yaar… this is Parliament this is Lok Sabha… you cannot address the Chair with yaar, Tenneti was heard saying, pointing towards Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader KC Venugopal.
