Amid a controversy over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi quoting from an unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief M.M. Naravane in Parliament, an expert on Parliamentary procedures on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) said Rule 349 bars members from reading from any book, newspaper or letter except in connection with the business of the House. However, the Rule does not elaborate about published or unpublished.
The Lok Sabha on Monday (February 2, 2026) saw a stand off between Speaker Om Birla and Mr. Gandhi when the Speaker disallowed the Leader of the Opposition to quote from the unpublished memoir of the former Army chief on the 2020 India-China conflict citing a House rule.
Uproar in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi seeks to quote from former Army chief Naravane’s ‘memoir’
Speaker Birla cited Rule 349 to disallow Mr. Gandhi from quoting from the retired general's unpublished memoir. "Rules to be observed by members in House" falls under Rule 349. The rule has 23 sub-clauses dealing with a variety of issues.
Sub-clause one deals with members quoting from documents. "Whilst the House is sitting, a member (i) shall not read any book, newspaper or letter except in connection with the business of the House," it reads.
