Rahul Defied Speaker’s Ruling, Wasted Lok Sabha’s Time: Rijiju

New Delhi, Feb 2: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of defying the Speaker’s ruling and wasting the time of the Lok Sabha by attempting to quote from an unpublished memoir of a former Army chief.

Talking to reporters, Rijiju said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had clearly ruled that only authenticated documents can be cited in the House. Referring to parliamentary rules, he said books, periodicals and news clippings that are not relevant to the proceedings cannot be quoted during debates.

“Despite the Speaker’s ruling, Rahul Gandhi repeated the same mistake, defied the Chair and wasted the precious time of the House,” the minister alleged.

A controversy erupted in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day when Gandhi sought to quote from an unpublished “memoir” of former Army chief General M.M. Naravane (retd). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly objected to the move and accused the Congress leader of misleading the House.

As Gandhi rose to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, he said he wanted to first respond to allegations made by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on nationalism and began citing what he described as Gen Naravane’s memoir.

The uproar over Gandhi’s remarks led to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha till 4 pm. (Agencies)