Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 10: Even as the publisher claimed that the book is not published, the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday cited a December 2023 social media post by former army chief M.M. Naravane informing people that his book is “available now.”
Rebutting the publisher Penguin Random House India’s (PRHI) statement that the ‘memoir’ has not yet been published, Mr Gandhi said he believes the word of the former army chief over Penguin.
Speaking with reporters in the Parliament House complex, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha read out Mr Naravane’s social media post on X (then Twitter), which said, “Hello friends. My book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy reading. Jai Hind.” “This is the tweet Mr Naravane has made. The point I am making is that either Mr Naravane is lying, and I believe the (former) Army chief, I don’t think he will lie, or Penguin is lying. Both cannot be telling the truth,” Mr Gandhi said.
“Penguin is saying the book is not published. The book is available on Amazon. Gen Naravane has tweeted, as I just read to you, that please buy my book. He tweeted this in 2023. Do you believe Penguin over Mr Naravane? I believe Mr Naravane,” Mr Gandhi said.
The Congress leader said Mr Naravane has made certain statements in the book that are “inconvenient” for the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Obviously, you have to decide whether Penguin is telling the truth or the (former) Army chief is telling the truth. That is the issue,” he added.
Pointing to a poster Opposition MPs were carrying near the Makar Dwar of Parliament during their protest, which read ‘Narender Surrender,’ Mr Gandhi said this has happened, and the Indo-US trade deal happened because of this.
The PRHI in a statement has said it holds the exclusive publishing rights to former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s memoir titled Four Stars of Destiny, and clarified that the book has not yet been published, amid reports of unauthorised copies in circulation.
The clarification came after the Delhi Police registered an FIR over the alleged illegal circulation of the manuscript in digital and other formats. In a statement issued on Monday the publishing house clarified that no copies of the book — either in print or digital form — have been released to the public.
“Penguin Random House India would like to clarify that we hold the sole publishing rights for the book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army. We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication,” the publisher said in a statement.
It further said that no copies of the book “in print or digital form — have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public” by the company. The publisher also warned that any version of the book currently circulating, whether in full or in part and in any format, including print, PDF or online copies, would amount to copyright infringement.
The PRHI later also clarified that an announced book, available for pre-order, and a published book were not the same. As allegations of unauthorized circulation rose, the publisher emphasized the difference between announced books and those actually available for sale.
The publisher is facing the heat after an alleged circulation of pdf copies of Naravane’s memoir, which is yet to be cleared by the Ministry of Defence. The book has been at the heart of controversy in the latest Parliament session, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi invoked excerpts from the book to attack the government. The Delhi Police has filed an FIR and launched a probe into the alleged illegal circulation.
Penguin Random House on Tuesday released a detailed note explaining how book publishing works. In its latest statement, PRHI outlined the distinction between an announced book, a book available for pre-order, a title scheduled for future release, and a published book, stressing that these stages are often misunderstood.
PRHI said a book is considered “published” only when it is available for purchase through retail channels, and not when it is merely announced, listed for pre-order, or assigned a future release date.
The publisher said that announcing a book only signals intent to publish and did not mean the book exists in a saleable form, while pre-orders are a standard industry practice that allow advance bookings but do not indicate availability. It added in an X post that even a scheduled publication date does not mean the book has been released, reinforcing that publication occurs solely at the point of retail availability.
The clarification came amid a Delhi Police investigation into the alleged illegal circulation of Naravane’s unpublished manuscript in digital and other formats. An FIR has been registered and the case handed to the Special Cell to examine a possible leak or breach involving the yet-to-be-published book.
The memoir was earlier slated for publication in April 2024, with pre-orders announced in 2023, but the release was later postponed. Online listings currently show the book as unavailable, with pre-orders cancelled.
According to the Delhi police, a case has been registered with the Special Cell to carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication, and an investigation is being taken up. The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen flashing a purported copy of the book in the Parliament complex last week. He wanted to cite excerpts from the memoir in the Lok Sabha since February 2 but has been stopped as it has not yet been published.
General Naravane also reacted to the row on Tuesday, and quoted a post on X by publishing house Penguin India on the book “Four Stars of Destiny”. Naravane wrote: “This is the status of the book.” The publishing House also said it “shall be exercising remedies available in law against the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the book.”
Since last Tuesday, the government has repeatedly asserted that General Naravane’s memoir is unpublished and cannot be quoted in the House. Rahul Gandhi has on multiple occasions tried to quote from the memoir, which has led to a ruckus in the House, with Congress and other Opposition members insisting that Gandhi be allowed to quote the book. Eight Opposition MPs, including seven from Congress, were suspended last week over alleged misbehaviour in the Lower House.