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Congress MP Vamsi Krishna Gaddam on Monday strongly defended Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi following heated exchanges in Parliament, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of selectively targeting the Congress while preventing the LoP from sharing his views on India-China border tensions.
Speaking to ANI, Gaddam alleged that the ruling party routinely accuses the Congress of being anti-national while selectively recalling historical events to suit its political narrative. "This is very typical of the BJP. Members of the party allege that Indian National Congress members are anti-national. Prime Minister Modi quotes Nehruji and decisions taken 20-30 years ago to blame him for the current state of affairs,' he said. Gaddam further claimed that when Rahul Gandhi attempted to discuss historical developments related to tensions along the India-China border, including decisions made in earlier periods, he was repeatedly interrupted. "But today, when our LoP Rahul Gandhi tried to narrate what happened in the past, when the China-India border was under tension and what decisions Rajnath Singh ji had taken, the House became very tense," he said. The Congress MP alleged that senior BJP leaders disrupted Rahul Gandhi's speech and did not allow him to complete his argument. "Amit Shah, Rijiju and Rajnath Singh himself stood up and stopped our LoP from speaking and putting his point forward," he said. The Congress MP also took aim at BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, accusing him of selectively highlighting events. "Tejasvi Surya made allegations that Operation Sindoor was very successful, but he forgot that when the Red Fort attack happened after Operation Sindoor, there was no discussion by the BJP. The BJP seems to have selective amnesia. Our LoP is standing for the truth, and the BJP is unable to accept it," he added. The remarks came amid heated exchanges in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day during the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address in the ongoing Budget session. The disruption began after Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from a magazine article that referred to excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane, referring to the Doklam standoff with China. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) objected to the Leader of Opposition's attempt to read from the unpublished memoir, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stating that material from an unpublished book could not be quoted in the House. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla upheld the objection, ruling that unpublished material could not be read out. The standoff led to repeated disruptions in the House, with opposition members demanding that Gandhi be allowed to speak, while treasury bench members insisted that parliamentary rules be followed. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav later supported Gandhi, saying the issue relating to China was sensitive and warranted discussion. The standoff continued for nearly 30 minutes, with disruptions from both sides, as the ruling party maintained that the opposition could not read from an unpublished article or book. Further, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also intervened during the exchange as the House remained divided over the issue, before the proceedings moved ahead amid continued interruption. (ANI)
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