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EYE ON INDIA FEBRUARY 13, 2026 | The Indian Eye 8

NATIONAL SECURITY

Does Naravane Memoir

Reference Puts Spotlight on Limits

of Parliamentary Debate?

OUR BUREAU Parliament to function. “All Opposi-
tion parties are united that if the LoP
New Delhi
is not allowed to speak, then there is
he sharp political confronta- very little opportunity for the House
tion in Parliament this week, to run,” he said, noting that Oppo-
Ttriggered by Congress leader sition MPs in the Rajya Sabha had
Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to cite for- staged a walkout over the issue.
mer Army chief General M.M. Nar- Ramesh also pointed out that
avane’s unpublished memoir on the parliamentary disruptions over the
2020 eastern Ladakh standoff, has Motion of Thanks were not unprec-
brought renewed attention to the edented, recalling that former Prime
uneasy boundaries between national Minister Manmohan Singh was un-
security, parliamentary privilege and able to reply to the motion in 2004
political accountability. after being prevented from speaking.
The controversy began after the As disruptions persisted, the Lok
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks
Sabha referred to General Nara- to the President’s Address without
vane’s memoir during proceedings, Prime Minister Modi delivering his
prompting strong objections from customary reply in the Lower House.
the ruling BJP. Government leaders The Speaker adjourned proceedings
argued that citing unpublished mate- amid sustained sloganeering by Op-
rial by a former Army chief violated position members, despite the Prime
House rules and risked demoralising Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi during the ongoing Budget Session, at the Parliament premises, Minister being present in Parliament.
the armed forces, a position that led in New Delhi on Thursday (ANI Photo/Rahul Singh) Congress leader Priyanka
to repeated disruptions and eventu- Gandhi Vadra intensified the crit-
ally prevented Gandhi from complet- mains unpublished, and neither side he changed ideology?” Modi said, icism, accusing the Prime Minister
ing his remarks. has publicly quoted from it in detail. adding that such language reflected of avoiding discussion. “There is no
BJP leaders maintained that dis- Yet its mention has assumed out- the Congress’ political decline. The discussion because the government
cussions involving the military must sized political significance, with the Prime Minister also alleged that the doesn’t want discussion to happen,”
adhere to strict conventions. Accord- Opposition arguing that referencing remark amounted to an insult to the she told reporters, alleging that Modi
ing to the ruling party, references to the perspective of a former Army Sikh community. was “hiding behind the Speaker.”
an unpublished account — partic- chief lends weight to its demand for The Congress has countered The government, however, re-
ularly on an ongoing strategic issue greater transparency, while the gov- that the government is using unrelat- jected the Opposition’s claims, with
such as the India-China standoff — ernment insists that such references ed controversies to divert attention sources asserting that the Speaker’s
could set a precedent that blurs the must be handled with restraint. from the core issue of parliamenta- decisions were guided by the need
line between legitimate debate and The standoff over the memoir ry debate. Congress MP Ujjwal Ra- to maintain order and prevent the
politicisation of the armed forces. quickly widened into a broader po- man Singh described the situation as politicisation of sensitive national se-
The Congress, however, has litical clash. While replying to the “shameful for democracy,” arguing curity issues.
framed the objections as an attempt Motion of Thanks on the President’s that preventing the Leader of the With both sides entrenched, the
to block scrutiny of the government’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Opposition from speaking under- episode has highlighted a recurring ten-
handling of the Ladakh crisis. Re- Minister Modi launched a sharp at- mines parliamentary norms. sion in Indian parliamentary practice:
acting to the developments, Rahul tack on the Congress, accusing it of “It’s a shameful thing for democ- how to balance open debate on strate-
Gandhi accused Prime Minister Na- arrogance and irresponsible conduct. racy that the Leader of the Opposi- gic and military matters with the need
rendra Modi of avoiding difficult Referring to Rahul Gandhi as the tion is not allowed to speak,” Singh to preserve institutional norms and
questions. “Just so much panic from party’s “Yuvraj,” Modi criticised a told ANI, alleging that “excuses are avoid politicising the armed forces. As
questions? Modi ji, so scared of the separate incident in which Gandhi being used as a pretext” to stop Gand- the Naravane memoir remains unpub-
truth, sought refuge in lies,” Gandhi called BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu hi from raising substantive issues. lished, the immediate dispute is less
said in a post on X, without elaborat- a “traitor” after he switched parties. Congress general secretary Jai- about its contents than about the rules
ing on the specific content he intend- “This is not a small word. How ram Ramesh warned that continued governing how such material can be in-
ed to cite from the memoir. can the country tolerate a citizen restrictions on the Opposition’s right voked — and who gets to define those
The Naravane memoir itself re- being called a traitor just because to speak would make it difficult for limits — on the floor of Parliament.

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