New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) The Congress on Monday accused the Centre of suppressing debate in Parliament to conceal its failures in handling the border standoff with China, alleging that the government was deliberately preventing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking out of fear that its “incompetence” would be exposed.
In a statement, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the government had gone to extraordinary lengths to silence the Opposition, deploying senior Cabinet ministers on the floor of the House to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s intervention.
“This faux nationalist government is so afraid of the truth of their incompetence coming out that they have deployed a bunch of senior most Cabinet Ministers to prevent LOP Rahul Gandhi from speaking,” Venugopal said.
Venugopal linked the disruptions in Parliament to recent excerpts from a book by former Army chief Gen. Manoj Naravane, claiming the government had earlier attempted to block its publication because it contradicted the ruling dispensation’s nationalist narrative.
“They moved heaven and earth to stall the publishing of Ex Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane book—and now when excerpts are coming out which expose their so-called nationalist commitments, they are heckling and silencing the Leader of Opposition,” he said.
The Congress leader alleged that instead of allowing a substantive discussion on national security and the China border situation, the government was misusing parliamentary procedures to shut down dissent.
Venugopal accused the Centre of deliberately misinterpreting the rules of procedure to block debate on what he described as serious lapses in dealing with China.
“By blatantly misinterpreting the rules of procedure, the Government is depriving the House and the people of India from knowing about their Himalayan blunders in the conflict against China,” he said.
Terming the government’s conduct “authoritarian”, Venugopal said the events in Parliament reflected a deeper erosion of democratic norms.
“It is a textbook case of 21st century fascism, where first you stifle dissent in public, and then misuse rules to further silence your opponents,” he added.
The statement comes amid repeated disruptions in the Parliament, with the Opposition demanding a discussion on national security issues and the government maintaining that parliamentary rules are being followed.
