Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address because he was “scared” of questions relating to former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s book.
Addressing reporters, Gandhi rejected claims that there was any threat to the Prime Minister from opposition members during last week’s proceedings and challenged authorities to register an FIR if any such threat had been made.
He said there was “no question” of Congress members attempting to attack or threaten the Prime Minister and described such allegations as baseless. Gandhi asserted that if anyone had issued a threat, the government should identify and arrest that individual.
The Congress leader further claimed that the government was reluctant to allow a detailed debate on the Union Budget due to concerns over a US-related deal and its potential impact on farmers. He said the opposition wanted a structured discussion but alleged that the government was trying to avoid it.
Gandhi maintained that repeated disruptions occurred when he attempted to raise issues linked to General Naravane’s book. According to him, he was first told not to quote from a book, then from a magazine, and was ultimately prevented from speaking on the subject.
He also accused the Defence Minister of incorrectly stating that the book was unpublished, claiming that copies were already available.
Raising broader concerns about parliamentary functioning, Gandhi said the opposition was not being allowed to present its views during key debates, while ruling party members faced no such restrictions. He also referred to the suspension of Congress members as another matter requiring discussion in the House.
The government has not yet issued a detailed response to Gandhi’s remarks.
