BJP claims Rahul Gandhi has 'military phobia' after Cong leaves parliamentary panel meet

Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi for allegedly walking out of a meeting of Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence, Bharatiya Janata Party leader NV Subhash on Thursday asserted that the former Congress President was 'military phobic'. He, while speaking to the media about the entire episode, underlined that Rahul Gandhi had not once in the past attended the meeting of the Parliament Defence panel, and called his absence from all the meetings a 'degradation of the morale' of the country's defence personnel. 

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's deliberate boycott of the Parliament's Standing Committee meeting is conspicuous. He is degrading the morale of the Defense personnel. He has not attended the Defence panel of Parliament meet a single time. It shows he might have a 'military phobia' or some other thing," NV Subhash said. 

Having said that, the BJP leader underlined that being a Congress leader it was pertinent for him to attend the meeting on behalf of the Army personnel to discuss and finalise certain things. He added, "People should know why Rahul Gandhi is deliberately avoiding standing panel meetings of the Parliament and he should clarify to the people. He is going to the subject beyond the meeting agenda and it is an attempt to discourage the defence personnel."

The statement comes after reports began to surface that Rahul Gandhi, along with a few other leaders of the party walked out of the Defence Committee meeting. During the meeting, which was on 'Review of Working of Cantonment Boards', the former Congress president stressed that more relevant issues should be discussed like the standoff with China and the Taliban taking ground in Afghanistan. 

Rahul Gandhi took permission: Committee Chairman

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Defence and BJP leader Jual Oram said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took permission before leaving the Defence Committee meeting. He also informed that the Wayanad MP took part in discussions before leaving.

"Rahul Gandhi did not walk out of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence. After participating in discussions for quite a while, he took permission and left," Oram was quoted as saying by ANI.