NEW DELHI: Opposition parties and Bharatiya Janata Party members engaged in a heated exchange in Congress president Om Birla’s office over Nishikant Dubey’s comments targeting the Gandhi family.After the adjournment of Parliament House, Congress MPs met Speaker Om Birla and protested his decision to allow Dubey to speak against the Gandhi family.

Congress members, including Deepender Singh Hooda, reportedly objected to Dubey’s statement. Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and other BJP MPs were also present.This was done after Dubey listed several books during his case in the Lok Sabha and spoke about what had been written about various members of the Gandhi family.Also read: ‘Traitor’ vs ‘Sadak Ka Gunda’: Rahul and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bittu face off outside Parliament — WatchDubey said Rahul Gandhi wants to talk about his unpublished books but he has brought a series of books exposing the Gandhi family.Krishna Prasad Teneti, who was presiding, said this could not be allowed as the presiding officer had already ruled against such comments. Teneti cited Rule 349, which prohibits members from reading any books, newspapers or letters except in connection with the business of the House. The House of Representatives then adjourned until 5 p.m.Earlier, the proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm following vocal protests by opposition members over certain issues related to the unpublished ‘memoirs’ of former army chief MM Naravane.Congress leaders brought banners and posters featuring former army chief and defense minister Rajnath Singh, and Rahul Gandhi was also seen flashing a book in the House.The House has been in an uproar since Monday afternoon after Rahul was refused citations for an article citing Naravane’s unpublished “memoir” on the 2020 India-China conflict.Rahul insisted on raising the issue of the August 2020 standoff between India and China, but was repeatedly cut off by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and later Home Minister Amit Shah, who asked him to refrain from quoting unverified sources.Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla while Parliament was in session, expressing his “strongest protest” over not being given an opportunity to address the President’s speech during the ongoing budget session.He described the restrictions as a “stain on democracy” and claimed the government was “terrified” by what was written in the book.