Rahul Gandhi cites Naravane memoir to accuse Modi of evading responsibility in 2020 clash
Rahul Gandhi cited former Army chief M. M. Naravane’s unreleased memoir to allege that Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided responsibility during the 2020 India-China standoff. He claimed the government was suppressing the book and silencing debate in Parliament
New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited former Army chief M. M. Naravane’s “unreleased memoir” to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi evaded responsibility during the 2020 India-China conflict and passed the buck to the then Army chief.
Addressing reporters in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up a copy of Naravane’s unpublished memoir and said young people in India should know that the book exists despite repeated denials by the government.
“The Speaker has said this book does not exist, the government has said it does not exist, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ji has said this book does not exist. Every youngster in India should see that this book exists,” Gandhi said.
He claimed that Naravane had written a detailed account of the developments in Ladakh.
Gandhi said he had been told that he could not quote from the memoir in the Lok Sabha.
“The main line is what the Prime Minister said — ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen Naravane, called Rajnath Singh and said, ‘Chinese tanks have come on the Kailash ridge, what should we do?’ Rajnath Singh did not reply at first. He also contacted S. Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and Rajnath Singh ji, but did not get a response,” Gandhi alleged, citing the memoir.
“He again called Rajnath Singh ji, who said, ‘I will ask from the top’. There was a standing order from the top that if Chinese forces came in, they should not be fired upon without permission. Naravane ji and our army wanted to fire on the tanks as they had entered our territory,” he said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the message — ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’, meaning he shed responsibility,” Gandhi alleged.
The former Congress chief further claimed that Naravane had written that he felt alone and abandoned by the establishment.
“This is what they are scared of me saying in Parliament,” Gandhi said.
“I don’t think the Prime Minister will have the courage to come to the Lok Sabha today. If he comes, I will give him this book,” he added.
Later, in a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi reiterated his allegations, saying the memoir was written by the country’s former Army chief and not by any opposition leader or foreign author.
He said the book claimed that when Chinese forces entered Indian territory, the Army chief was made to wait for directions, and the Prime Minister eventually told him to act as he deemed fit.
“In other words, in the most serious crisis for the country’s security, Modi ji evaded political responsibility,” Gandhi said.
“The country is asking questions, and the government is running away from answering them,” he added.
The government-Opposition confrontation in the Lok Sabha intensified on Tuesday after eight MPs were suspended for “unruly behaviour” following protests over Gandhi being disallowed from quoting an article citing the unpublished memoir.
Seven Congress MPs and one CPI(M) member were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session, which ends on April 2, for allegedly climbing on the secretary-general’s table, tearing papers and throwing them at the Chair.
Gandhi has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, protesting against being disallowed from speaking on a matter of national security and calling it a “blot on democracy”. He said it was the first time in history that a Leader of the Opposition was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.