New Delhi:
Chaos consumed Parliament Tuesday after Congress Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi tried, for a second consecutive day, to read out excerpts from ex-Army chief General MM Naravane‘s unpublished book, including sections about the 2020 India-China military stand-off in Ladakh.
Denied permission, opposition MPs – some of whom refused to speak when asked to, in solidarity with Gandhi – protested, eventually leading to the Lok Sabha adjourning for the day.
There were also reports of MPs throwing pieces of paper at Speaker Om Birla.
Following the ruckus eight Congress MPs, including Hibi Eden, Amarinder Raja Warring, and Manickam Tagor, were suspended for the remainder of the session. Warring spoke to NDTV and said, “Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak… even though he had authenticated the document and submitted it to the House. We protested against this and tore up the papers. Is this a crime demanding suspension?”
BJP MP Anurag Thakur slammed Gandhi for having “insulted democracy and Parliament”.
“He had just one intention… to insult Indian soldiers. That is the only agenda the Congress is left with. After a fantastic budget was presented (on Sunday) the opposition was left with nothing else to say. And so, pieces of paper were torn and thrown at the Chair,” Thakur said.
“What can be a bigger misfortune than this? An individual who doesn’t know that permission needs to be obtained from the Speaker or Chairman to speak… look at the arrogance. This is the arrogance of one party and one family. This is the intoxication of power…”
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