New Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Monday defended her brother and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for quoting an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane and cited a magazine transcript of the memoir. Responding to the BJP’s allegations that Gandhi had defamed the Army, Priyanka Gandhi said, “They (BJP) always say this whenever something comes out that they want to hide.”
“He was not trying to defame the Army. He was reading an excerpt from the book of the Army Chief. They (BJP) always say this whenever something comes out that they want to hide,” Priyanka said while speaking to news agency ANI outside Parliament after the uproar.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi triggred an uproar by attempting to read excerpts from an unpublished book by former Army Chief General Manoj Naravane. He was interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Lok Sabha was finally adjourned for the day after the LoP once again stood firm on his assertions over former Army chief Naravane’s unpublished memoir when Parliament resumed for the third time in the past two hours.
Gandhi highlighted a specific passage regarding Chinese manoeuvers during the border standoff.
Later, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that he was being prevented from speaking because the government was “scared” of the contents of the former Army chief’s account. He said the issue was not merely about territory but about leadership and accountability during the India-China standoff. “This is not my view. This is what the former Army Chief has written. Why are they afraid of his perspective?” Gandhi asked, alleging that the political leadership failed to stand up to China.
