Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday took aim at the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting House proceedings by raising the Ladakh standoff issue while quoting from a magazine article linked to an "unpublished book" of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
Earlier on Monday, Speaker Om Birla had issued a ruling stating that no one can quote a news article or magazine, citing Parliamentary rules, and stated that only "authentic sources" can be quoted in the House. Gandhi's statement and subsequent insistence triggered an uproar in the House and have since spilt into a heated war of words outside Parliament.
"Yesterday, there was a very good debate and discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The discussion in the Lok Sabha also started on a very positive note. However, due to Rahul Gandhi, the entire debate of the day was disrupted," Rijiju told the reporters following the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting.
"A wonderful debate took place in the Rajya Sabha, with MPs actively participating and several important suggestions emerging. In both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, discussions started well, but everything came to a halt because of Rahul Gandhi," he added.
Gandhi was interrupted repeatedly by the treasury benches, who urged him to present "authentic" sources to support his claims. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also interrupted the LoP's speech, questioning the authenticity of the statements.
Chaos erupted in the House, but Gandhi remained adamant on raising the Ladakh standoff issue for "national security" purposes. Bashing the conduct, Rijiju said, "As a matter of procedure, everyone must follow the rules. We are all elected members, and the House functions according to the Rules of Business and the prescribed conduct.
Therefore, no one should disrespect this, and everyone must adhere to it." The Parliamentary Affairs Minister further accused Gandhi of "wasting the time" of other MPs, including the opposition benches, during the proceedings. "With good intentions, even if one does not express their own points well in the debate, they should not harm others.
In the Congress and opposition parties, several MPs debate well, give good suggestions, and want to speak, but their time is being wasted because of Rahul Gandhi," he said. "Congress can never appreciate anything good; it is their habit.
They themselves cannot achieve anything good, and even if something beneficial happens for the country, they cannot tolerate it," Rijiju added. Meanwhile, disruptions and protests from Congress MPs and sloganeering from the opposition benches continued on Tuesday.