Protests, handshake refused, message for Modi: Day 3 of Rahul Gandhi-memoir Parliament saga

New Delhi: Protests, handshake refused, message for Modi: Day 3 of Rahul Gandhi-memoir Parliament saga

A verbal exchange broke out between the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Union minister of state for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu outside Parliament when the Congress MP referred to the former Congress leader as a “traitor friend”, leading the latter to refuse a handshake offered by Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Gandhi’s “memoir row” continued on Wednesday as he displayed “Four Stars of Destiny”, ex-Army chief MM Naravane’s book, to reporters and said he would hand it over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he came to the Lok Sabha.

The row over the memoir began when Rahul Gandhi was stopped for a second day on Tuesday from citing an article that referred to an unpublished “memoir” by former Army chief Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.

A war of words sparked when the Lok Sabha LoP and the minister met outside Parliament, where the Congress MPs were protesting. As Gandhi saw Bittu entering the premises, he called him a “traitor friend” and reached out for a handshake.

“Here is a traitor walking right by. Look at the face,” the Congress leader said, as he offered his hand and added, “Hello, brother, my traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back (to Congress),” according to a video shared by news agency ANI.

It is worth noting that Bittu had left the Congress and joined the BJP in 2024. The argument began after Ravneet Bittu reacted to the protesting MPs, saying, “They are sitting as if they won a war.”

The minister declined to shake hands and referred to Rahul as “Desh ke dushman (enemy of the state).”

Displaying former Army chief Naravane’s unpublished “memoir” to claim that PM Modi failed to act during the India-China conflict in 2020 and shifted responsibility to Naravane, Rahul Gandhi said that he would give the book to PM Modi if he comes to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Speaking within the Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up the “memoir” and said he wanted young people in India to know that this “book” exists, even though the government has said otherwise.

“The main line is what the PM said, ‘jo uchit samjho woh karo’. When the chief of army staff, Gen Naravane, called Rajnath Singh and said, ‘Chinese tanks have come, what should we do?’ Rajnath Singh did not reply to him at first. He (Naravane) asked S Jaishankar, NSA (Ajit Doval), Rajnath Singh, but did not get a reply,” the Congress leader said, referring to the “memoir”.

“I don’t think the PM will have the guts to come to the Lok Sabha today. If he comes, I am going to give him this book,” he added.

Suspended Congress MPs were seen protesting outside Parliament, holding posters that read “PM is compromised”. Rahul Gandhi had made the same claim earlier while speaking to the media on the India-US trade agreement.

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