A political row erupted on Monday after Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi quoted in Parliament an excerpt from the unpublished memoir of former Indian Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane about the political decision-making during the 2020 border tensions between India and China.

Gandhi’s remarks during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address were interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, leading to ruckus in the Lok Sabha.

In his memoir Four Stars of Destiny, which is yet to be released, Naravane wrote that on August 31, 2020, he had sought orders from India’s political and military leadership for the Army to respond to Chinese tanks moving towards Rechin La in eastern Ladakh.

Naravane wrote that he had, in line with the protocol, sought “clear direction” from Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, General Bipin Rawat, who was the chief of defence staff at the time, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Naravane said that hours after first seeking orders, he had been told by Singh that he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that the military was to do whatever its deem appropriate.

The former Army chief wrote in his memoir that this implied that the Indian response was to be “purely a military decision” and that “the onus was now totally on [him]”.

The excerpts from the memoir had been reported in December 2023 and were quoted by The Caravan magazine on Saturday.

The incident Naravane referred to had taken place amid the border tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh. Two months before the incident, in June 2020, a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan valley along the Line of Actual Control had led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.

On Monday, the proceedings of the Lok Sabha were disrupted as Gandhi began quoting from the book.

The defence minister asked the leader of the Opposition to clarify whether the book had been published, PTI reported.

In response, Gandhi said that the source he was quoting from was authentic, insisting that he can read from it.

Gandhi said that he had not intended to speak on the particular matter, but decided to do so after Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya questioned the Congress’ patriotism, the news agency reported.

Shah said that Surya had not questioned the Opposition’s patriotism.

Singh reiterated that the book had not been published and accused Gandhi of “misleading the House”.

Shah asked how Gandhi could quote from the book when it had not been released, India Today reported.

Gandhi said that he was quoting from the magazine article to express his views.

Speaker Om Birla, citing rules, said that no book or newspaper clipping could be quoted on a matter not related to the proceedings of the House, PTI reported.

Amid the uproar, Birla adjourned the proceedings in the Lok Sabha for some time. When the ruckus continued as the House convened, it was adjourned for the day.

Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that “the leader of the country is supposed to give direction”.

“The leader of the country is not supposed to run away from decisions and leave decisions to other people’s shoulders,” ANI quoted Gandhi as saying. “That is what the prime minister has done.”

The book was to be published in April 2024, but has not been released yet. In October, Naravane had said that the publisher was waiting for the Union government’s approval.

The Union government has not commented on the contents of Naravane’s memoir.

However, on Monday, the defence minister said in Parliament that if the book would have been published if its contents were accurate and if Naravane thinks that his memoir has been unjustly barred from being released, he could challenge it in court.