'Matter of national security': Rahul Gandhi, 'China' and Lok Sabha that couldn’t sit still

Repeated disruptions forced the Lok Sabha to adjourn for the day after sustained ruckus between the ruling side and the opposition over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on raising the China issue.

Rahul Gandhi kept raising issues around China despite repeated directions from the Speaker. Gandhi sought to link the discussion to a book by former Army chief Manoj Naravane, which is unavailable in India.

The lower house had already been adjourned twice earlier in the day by Speaker Om Birla after the Leader of Opposition continued to speak on the 2020 India–China border conflict, citing Naravane’s “memoir”. The book is titled Four Stars of Destiny.


As the disruptions escalated, the Congress accused the Modi government of deliberately heckling Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha to prevent him from speaking.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal alleged that the government had deployed senior Cabinet ministers and misused parliamentary rules to “silence” Gandhi, claiming it feared that the truth about its “incompetence” would be exposed.

“This faux nationalist government is so afraid of the truth coming out that they have pressed some of its seniormost Cabinet ministers into service to stop the Leader of Opposition from speaking,” Venugopal said in a post on X.

He further alleged that the government had earlier tried to stall the publication of Naravane’s book and was now reacting defensively as excerpts began to emerge. “When details that expose their so-called nationalist credentials are coming into the public domain, they are resorting to heckling and silencing the Leader of Opposition,” he said.

When proceedings resumed for the third time, Gandhi began his remarks by saying, “It is a matter of national security,” as Congress MPs loudly cheered from the benches behind him. BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the House at the time, intervened immediately.

Pal said the Leader of Opposition was not willing to speak on any subject other than the matter he had been specifically asked not to raise.

Earlier in the day, the government had sharply countered Gandhi’s remarks, repeatedly asserting that he was breaching the rules of the House. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah asked Gandhi to produce the book from which he was quoting, questioning the authenticity of the excerpts.

When the House reconvened again, Gandhi immediately flagged the absence of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.

“The Prime Minister has escaped. Amit Shah has escaped,” he said.

The remarks triggered an uproar, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objecting and calling the use of the word “escaped” unconstitutional. Heated exchanges followed between the treasury benches and the opposition as proceedings continued amid disorder.

“It is uncomfortable for the Defence Minister, it is uncomfortable for the Prime Minister, I understand it,” Gandhi said when he was eventually allowed to speak.

Moments later, as he again referred to the former Army chief, the House was adjourned for the third and final time for the day.