Rahul Gandhi dares PM Modi over Naravane ‘Memoir’, waves ex-Army Chief’s book

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he failed to take responsibility during the 2020 India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Speaking to reporters and within Parliament premises, Gandhi said he was ready to personally hand over an unpublished “memoir” of former Army Chief General M M Naravane to the Prime Minister if he attended the Lok Sabha.

“I don’t think the Prime Minister will have the guts to come to the House today. If he does, I will physically go and give him this book so he can read it and the country can know the truth,” Gandhi said. Displaying the manuscript to the media, the Congress leader claimed the book contains details of how the government handled the situation when Chinese troops and tanks reached the Kailash Ridge during the border standoff.

Quoting from the document, Gandhi alleged that General Naravane had sought guidance from then Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the National Security Adviser but did not receive a clear response.

He further claimed that when the Army Chief asked how to respond to Chinese movements, he was told that the “top” leadership had instructed that Indian forces should not open fire without permission.

According to Gandhi, the Prime Minister’s message to the Army Chief was “jo uchit samjho woh karo” (do what you think is right), which he described as an abdication of responsibility.

“This shows the Prime Minister did not fulfil his duty. He passed the buck to the Army Chief. It meant ‘this is not in my control’,” Gandhi said.