‘I don’t think he has guts to...’: Rahul Gandhi challenges PM Modi with copy of Gen Naravane’s memoir

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi challenged Narendra Modi to come Lok Sabha on Wednesday, stating that if the PM comes to the House, he will personally hand over a copy of the former Army Chief General M M Naravane’s memoir to him.

The statement of Gandhi followed a day after eight MPs from the Opposition were suspended from the Lok Sabha following disruptions in the House. The ruckus erupted when Rahul Gandhi insisted on reading from a memoir, despite the Chair asking other members to speak. A similar confrontation had occurred on Monday when Gandhi attempted to speak during the Prime Minister’s reply to the President’s address.

While speaking with a copy of the memoir in his hand, Rahul Gandhi said, “I don’t think the PM will have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today because if he comes, I am going to give him this book. If the PM comes, I will go physically and hand him this book so he can read it and the country can get to know the truth.”

Narendra Modi did not fulfil his duties: Rahul Gandhi

"Every youngster in India should see that this book exists. This is Mr Naravane's book. He has given an entire account of Ladakh in this book; I have been told that I cannot quote this book. The main line is what the PM said - "jo uchit samjho wo karo". When the (former) Chief of Army Staff General Naravane called up Rajnath Singh ji and said that Chinese tanks have reached the Kailash Ridge, so what should we do? First, Rajnath Singh did not respond to him. He asked Jaishankar ji, NSA and Rajnath Singh but received no reply. He then called up Rajnath Singh once again. Rajnath Singh told him that he would ask the 'top'," Gandhi said.

"The standing order of the 'top' was that if Chinese forces came in, we should not fire on them without permission. Naravane ji and our Army wanted to fire on those tanks because they had entered our territory. Narendra Modi ji gave a message that "jo uchit samjho wo karo". It means that Narendra Modi did not fulfil his duties; he told the Army chief to do whatever he wants as "mere bas ki nahi hai." Naravane ji writes, 'I felt really alone, I was abandoned by the entire establishment," he added.

On Tuesday, Gandhi intensified his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he was barred from quoting or referring to former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s unpublished memoir. As the Leader of the Opposition repeatedly attempted to raise issues of national security by citing excerpts from the book Four Stars of Destiny, which were recently published in an essay in The Caravan magazine, the Chair curtailed his remarks for disregarding its instructions and proceeded to call the next speaker.