Uproar in Lok Sabha after Rahul seeks to quote from ex-army chief Naravane's 'memoir'
New Delhi (PTI): A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief Gen M M Naravane (retd), but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of "misleading" the House.
As Gandhi rose to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the president's address, he said he would first like to respond to the charges made by the previous speaker, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, against the Congress on nationalism and began quoting from what he stated was the "memoir" of Gen. Naravane talking about the India-China conflict of 2020.
However, Singh strongly protested this and asked Gandhi to clarify whether the book had been published or not.
The uproar went on for about 50 minutes with Speaker Om Birla repeatedly stating that no book or newspaper clipping can be quoted on a matter not related to the proceedings of the House, and Gandhi insisting that the document was authenticated and he could quote from it.
Government sources said Gandhi was reading "concocted things" on China. They said there was ample material in the public domain on the decisions taken by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on China, and alleged that he "surrendered thousands of acres of land just to further his own statesmanship."
Gandhi said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP's Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party.
Singh maintained that the book had not been published. Gandhi then said he was quoting from a magazine article to put forth his views.
Birla again disallowed it and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called for the Speaker's ruling to be adhered to.
Rijiju said if the leader of the opposition repeatedly ignores the Speaker's ruling and flouts rules, the House will have to discuss what action should be taken against such a member.
The minister said Gandhi was setting a wrong example for young MPs by not following the rules of the House.
With Gandhi unrelenting, the Speaker repeatedly warned him against quoting the book.
Singh then got up and asked if the book was not allowed to be published as alleged, then why didn't Naravane go to court against it. The defence minister also accused Gandhi of "misleading the House".
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav supported Gandhi and urged the Speaker to allow the Congress leader to speak.
With both the treasury and opposition MPs unrelenting, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm.
When the House reassembled at 3 pm, Gandhi again attempted to raise the India-China border issue and was met with stiff resistance from the treasury benches.
Rijiju said Gandhi should not say things that belittle the army.
As the deadlock continued, Birla adjourned the House till 4 pm.
Several opposition leaders, including TMC's Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, RJD's Manoj Jha, and SP chief Yadav, rallied behind Gandhi over the issue.
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SC grants bail to three accused in 2024 Pune Porsche crash case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche accident case that claimed two lives, while observing that parents are to be blamed for such incidents involving juveniles.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that parents are not able to control their children.
"Substance abuse is another thing but giving them (children) car keys and funds to have a gala time is unacceptable," the court observed.
On January 23, the top court sought a response from the Maharashtra government on a plea filed by accused Amar Santish Gaikwad seeking bail in the case.
Gaikwad represented by advocate Sana Raees Khan was alleged to be a middleman, who gave Rs 3 lakh to the assistant of a doctor in a hospital to replace a blood sample of the juvenile accused.
On May 19, 2024, a Porsche allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, fatally knocked down two IT professionals in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area.
On January 7, the top court sought a response from the Maharashtra government on pleas filed by two other accused seeking bail in the case.
Aditya Avinash Sood (52) and Ashish Satish Mittal (37) represented by senior advocates Siddharth Dave and Siddharth Agarwal were arrested on August 19 last year, as their blood samples were used for tests in connection with two minors who were in the car along with the 17-year-old main accused at the time of the accident.
The high court on December 16 last year rejected the bail pleas of eight accused, including Gaikwad, Sood and Mittal, in the case.
The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) had granted bail to the minor accused on lenient terms, sparking nationwide outrage. The bail conditions included writing a 300-word essay on road safety.
As bail to the accused juvenile triggered outrage, the Pune police approached the JJB to review its decision. The board then modified the order and sent the juvenile to an observation home. In June, the high court ordered the release of the juvenile.
While the juvenile involved in the case was released from an observation home, 10 accused, including his parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors Ajay Tawre and Shreehari Halnor, Sassoon Hospital's staffer Atul Ghatkamble, Aditya Avinash Sood, Ashish Mittal and Arun Kumar Singh, and two middlemen, were sent to jail in the blood sample swapping case.
