A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief Gen (retd) M M Naravane but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of "misleading" the House.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5 in 2020, following a violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Pangong Lake area. Former Army chief General Naravane, in his unpublished memoir titled 'Four Stars Of Destiny', has written about the clash, and an essay on the book was published by a well-known magazine.

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.

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.

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. The Speaker 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".

"I want that LoP, Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi), should present before the House the book he is quoting from, because the book he is referring to has not been published," said Rajnath Singh.

Support for the Opposition leader came from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. who said, "The matter relating to China is very sensitive. LoP, Lok Sabha should be allowed to speak."

Rahul Gandhi's repeated utterance of the phrase "Chinese tanks" was met with opposition from virtually every BJP leader in the House.

"When the book has not even been published, how can he quote from it?" asked Amit Shah.

"We should also discuss what should be done with a member who doesn't obey the Speaker's ruling in Lok Sabha," suggested Kiren Rijiju.

The repeated interjections led Rahul Gandhi to ask, "What does it contain which is scaring them so much? If they are not scared, I should be allowed to read on."

The Congress leader insisted that the article and the book he was quoting were "100% authentic". The 55-year-old added that he did not want to talk about the issue but was compelled to after the BJP's Tejasvi Surya "questioned" his and the Congress party's patriotism.

"Rahul Gandhi is reading whatever he feels on the floor of Parliament. This sets a very dangerous precedent, and this method can be used by anyone to slander others. He has trivialised the floor of Parliament," government sources said.

"Tomorrow, BJP leaders can also concoct facts and say it is in some unpublished book. Rahul Gandhi has become a fake news factory by reading fictitious things on the floor of Parliament," sources added.