New Delhi [India], February 4 : Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday said that a "certain kind of atmosphere" is being created in the Parliament and sought to know how the BJP gets to "quote books", but the opposition is restricted.
Speaking to ANI, Chaturvedi said it was the Opposition's responsibility to question the government in the Lok Sabha and alleged that the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was "not allowed to speak."
"A certain kind of atmosphere is being created in Parliament... It is the opposition's job to raise all questions in the Lok Sabha. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak. The Leader of the Opposition was referring to a book, but he was told that the book had not been published, so today he even brought the book with him. In the Rajya Sabha too, people quote from books. How can it be that the BJP is allowed to quote from books, but the opposition is not...?"
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "scared" and avoiding Parliament, saying he does not want to face the truth on national security, as a major standoff erupted in the House over Gandhi's references to former Army Chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir on the 2020 China border crisis.
PM Modi was expected to reply to the motion of thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha at 5 PM on Wednesday, but the House was adjourned till February 5, following repeated disruptions and uproar by Opposition members.
In a post shared on X, Gandhi wrote, "As I said, PM Modi won't come to Parliament because he is scared and doesn't want to face the truth."
He also shared a video from outside the Parliament premises, saying, "I don't think the PM will have the guts to come in the Lok Sabha today because if he comes, I'm going to give him this (General MM Naravane) book. So if PM comes, I will go physically and hand him this book so he can read it, and he will know what his truth is, and the country will also know about the same."
The controversy triggered repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha. On Monday, the House witnessed multiple interruptions and was adjourned for the day after Gandhi insisted on speaking about the China standoff while referring to a report citing Naravane's unpublished memoir. BJP members objected, arguing that he was violating House rules.