Ashhar Alam | New Delhi

The Lok Sabha witnessed high drama during the Budget Session on February 2, 2026, after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to quote from former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s yet-to-be-cleared memoir triggered sharp exchanges, repeated disruptions and multiple adjournments of the House.

Participating in the debate, Gandhi sought to cite excerpts from Four Stars of Destiny, a book that refers to Chinese armoured movements near Indian positions in eastern Ladakh and recounts a purportedly open-ended directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the crisis. The reference immediately drew objections from the Treasury benches.

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— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 2, 2026

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened, invoking parliamentary rules that bar members from reading or quoting from books and documents that have not been officially verified or cleared, particularly on matters linked to national security. As the Speaker disallowed the citation, the exchange escalated, with Congress MPs protesting loudly and BJP members accusing the Opposition of sensationalism.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking in Lok Sabha during budget session

Amid laughter and counter-slogans, Gandhi responded sharply, remarking that he was willing to let the Speaker write his speech if his own words were not permitted. The comment further fuelled tensions, forcing repeated adjournments as the Opposition alleged that the government was suppressing inconvenient truths related to border security.

The BJP, however, rejected the accusations, arguing that Gandhi was reviving selective and unverified claims from a memoir that is still awaiting Defence Ministry clearance. Senior ruling party members maintained that quoting such material on the floor of the House could mislead the public and undermine institutional processes.

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The confrontation has since spilled over to social media, where clips of the exchange and competing political narratives have gone viral. While the Congress has framed the episode as a fight for transparency and accountability, the BJP has positioned it as a reckless attempt to politicise sensitive national security issues.

The episode underscores how debates on defence and border management continue to be flashpoints in Parliament, especially when political contestation intersects with unresolved military and strategic questions.