'Very, very deep truths': MPs react after Rahul cites ex-army chief's book in Lok Sabha

Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Kumar Jha MP said that the government has “in a way exposed itself" by objecting to Gandhi's speech.

Ruckus erupted in the lower house of the Parliament today when Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi sought to read excerpts from the former Indian Army chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir today during the ongoing Budget session.

Rahul vs BJP in Parliament

Gandhi could only read four words, "Chinese tanks in Doklam” before the treasury benches interrupted and stopped him from speaking further; and chaos followed in the Parliament.

It was defence minister Rajnath Singh who got up and sought to ask Rahul Gandhi whether the book he was citing was published or not. “He cannot claim to quote from it,” Singh said, “I can say with confidence, the book has not been published.”

Amid the ruckus, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till 3 pm, and then till 4 pm, and then for the day.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, while reacting to what happened in the Lok Sabha, sought to speak about the rules of the Parliament and said that whatever is said there is governed by Article 105 of the Constitution.

“What we say in Parliament is governed by Article 105 of the Constitution, which states that we have freedom of speech. Article 105 also states that the Speaker has to make rules regarding certain matters. There's another catch in Article 105. It says that Article 19 of the Constitution, which deals with freedom of speech, must be given primary consideration. Points 2, 3, and 4 of Article 19 state that one should refrain from discussing matters that could harm relations with other countries, especially neighbouring countries, or matters concerning national security. Such topics should not be discussed,” Dubey said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

“He didn't even know which book he was citing from. He simply brought whatever speech someone else had written for him. When Parliament was formed, certain rules were established, such as Rule 349, the first point of which states that you cannot quote from any book or newspaper,” he added.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh, unhappy over Gandhi's remarks in the Parliament, said that the LoP was “undermining the dignity of the House”.

"He was making such statements even after repeated requests from the Speaker. I would call this indiscipline..." he said.

‘Embarrassing for the govt’

However, the Opposition MP, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Kumar Jha, said that the government has “in a way exposed itself" by objecting to Gandhi's speech.

“I have also read that portion of the book. In a healthy democracy, in a country like India, the concern shouldn't be whether the truth will come out. The concern should be what will be done after the truth comes out,” he said while speaking to ANI.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also attacked the government over not letting Gandhi speak and claimed that the government is “hell-bent on suppressing his voice because they don't want the truth to come out”.

"I have never seen a government so vehemently opposing a quote from a former army chief, a respected soldier who spent his entire life defending us, who has written an autobiography, and this government is hell-bent on suppressing his voice because they don't want the truth to come out. So obviously there are some very, very deep truths in it, which are embarrassing to the leadership of this government, and that is why they are behaving in this way, hiding behind parliamentary procedure, quoting rules which are not really relevant to suppress the voice of the leader of the opposition..." Chidambaram said.

(With inputs from ANI)