New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, February 3, authenticated a copy of an article in the Lok Sabha citing former Indian Army chief MM Naravane‘s unpublished memoir, which claims the government gave no specific instructions on how to respond when Chinese tanks advanced within 500 metres of Indian positions during a tense standoff in eastern Ladakh in August 2020.
As soon as Gandhi was asked to speak on the Motion of Thanks, he cited the Speaker’s ruling of Monday, February 2, and authenticated the copy of the article. “I have authenticated it,” he said.
To authenticate a document, a member has to submit a signed copy of it affirming that it is correct to the best of his knowledge.
Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the House, asked him to table it and said, “We will examine it and get back.” As the impasse continued over Gandhi seeking to quote the article, Tenneti adjourned the proceedings till 3 pm.
What did Gen Naravane write in his book?
The controversy centres on excerpts from General Naravane’s book “Four Stars of Destiny,” which has been pending clearance from the Ministry of Defence for over a year. The excerpts, published by the Caravan magazine, detail the events of the night of August 31, 2020, when four Chinese tanks with infantry began moving up a track towards Rechin La after Indian Army personnel had seized strategic heights on the Kailash Range earlier that day.
General Naravane (retd) made frantic calls to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, repeatedly asking “What are my orders?”
The memoir states the army chief had “clear orders not to open fire ’till cleared from the very top’.”
Around 10.30 pm, Singh called back after speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and told General Naravane it was “purely a military decision,” instructing him: “Jo ucchit samjho woh karo (Do whatever you deem appropriate).”
General Naravane described this as being handed a “hot potato” and wrote that “the onus was now totally on me.” He ordered Indian tanks forward with guns trained on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) positions. The Chinese forces halted and no shots were fired.
Rahul Gandhi blocked from reading excerpts
A row had erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday, February 2, when Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished memoir, but faced strong opposition from Singh and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members who accused the Congress leader of misleading the House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla disallowed Gandhi from raising the issue, but he did not relent and several Opposition leaders rallied behind him. The House was adjourned twice amid uproar as heated exchanges took place between the treasury and Opposition benches.
The government countered that the Prime Minister does not make tactical battlefield decisions.
The memoir, originally slated for release in early 2024 by Penguin Random House, has been under review for over a year. Senior military officials are subject to regulations including the Official Secrets Act, which require prior government clearance for publishing works containing potentially classified information.General Naravane has said his job was to write the book and it is now up to the publisher and the Ministry of Defence to manage the clearance process. He remarked the book is “maturing like aged wine” during the delay.
(With PTI inputs)
