Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday walked out of a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on defence when his demand for a discussion on substantive issues such as the Chinese intrusions and how to strengthen India’s security on the borders was stonewalled by the BJP members.

The Congress leader had intervened to question wastage of time on debating issues such as uniforms instead of critical concerns but was shouted down by the BJP members.

As the chairman of the committee, BJP leader Jual Oram, did not allow Rahul to speak on other issues, he and other Congress members walked out. The meeting, after discussing uniforms for one-and-a-half hours, ended abruptly.

The trouble started when BJP MP Devender Paul Vats raised the issue of changes in uniform, calling for uniformity and parity in the rank and names of all the wings — the army, navy and the air force — so there is no confusion.

This was mentioned when officers, led by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, were making a presentation on how military service branches in the US and other countries had uniforms that made it easy to distinguish between various ranks.

Rahul intervened to ask why politicians had to decide on uniforms and ranks as these should best be left to the armed forces themselves. The chairman of the committee asked them not to speak on subjects not being discussed.

But Rahul insisted that General Rawat clarify whether the armed forces were not competent to decide these matters on their own. Sources said the Congress members were not allowed to speak, leading to the walkout.