New Delhi : The Lok Sabha witnessed fresh disruptions on Tuesday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi authenticated a copy of an article citing former Army chief M M Naravane’s unpublished ‘memoir’. The disruption began when Gandhi, speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, sought to revive an issue on which the Chair had already given a ruling on Monday.
The proceedings were being chaired by Krishna Prasad Tenneti when the disruption occurred. Rahul Gandhi told the House that he had “authenticated” an article referring to Naravane’s unpublished memoir and wanted to cite it, claiming it related to national security. I have authenticated it, Gandhi said, referring to the document. Under parliamentary rules, a member authenticates a document by submitting a signed copy affirming its correctness to the best of his knowledge.
Objecting to repeated interruptions, Gandhi questioned the use of the word permission. I am objecting to the word permission. I’m not given permission by anyone; I am the Leader of the Opposition,” he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju countered, Everyone speaks with permission, whoever he is. Nobody speaks without permission from the Speaker. As tempers flared, Tenneti objected to the manner in which members addressed the Chair. “One of the members addressed me as ‘yaar’ and I objected to that,” Tenneti later said.
Explaining the seriousness of the act, he added, Coming on the table means coming closer to the Chair, which is highly objectionable. When asked whether the suspended MPs had any intention of attacking the Chair, Tenneti stopped short of attributing motive but strongly condemned their actions. These MPs have crossed all the limits, he said. The disorder led to the suspension of eight MPs and stalled legislative business for a considerable period.
After the adjournment, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of deliberately preventing him from speaking. “For the first time in history, the Leader of the Opposition was not allowed to speak on the President’s address,” he claimed. Defending the Chair’s action, Kiren Rijiju said Rahul Gandhi had attempted to quote from an unpublished memoir of a former Army chief, which was not permissible under parliamentary rules.
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