Rahul Gandhi Questions Publisher’s Claim in Ex-Army Chief Naravane Book Row
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday intensified the political row surrounding former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny, questioning the credibility of publisher Penguin Random House India after it claimed the book had not been published in any form.
The controversy escalated after Penguin Random House India issued a statement earlier in the day asserting that it holds exclusive publishing rights to the memoir and that the manuscript has not yet been officially released. The publisher said it felt compelled to clarify its position amid reports of unauthorised copies of the book circulating online and in print.
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Responding to the statement, Rahul Gandhi alleged inconsistencies in the publisher’s claim and suggested that either Penguin Random House India or the former Army Chief was being untruthful.
Referring to a December 2023 social media post by General Naravane, Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament, “Here is a tweet from General Naravane which says, ‘Just follow the link to my book.’ The point I am making is this: either General Naravane is lying, or Penguin is lying — and I do not think the former Army Chief would lie.”
The Congress leader further claimed that the book was available for purchase on online platforms, including Amazon, despite repeated assertions from the government that the book did not exist. “Penguin says the book has not been published, but the book is available on Amazon. General Naravane himself tweeted asking people to buy his book in 2023. I believe Naravaneji over Penguin,” Gandhi said.
Holding up a copy of Four Stars of Destiny, Gandhi said he wanted young Indians to know that the book exists despite repeated denials by the government. “The Speaker has said this book does not exist. The government has said it does not exist. Defence Minister Rajnath Singhji has said it does not exist. But every youngster in India should see that this book exists,” he said.
Gandhi also suggested that certain observations made by the former Army Chief in his memoir may be uncomfortable for the government. “I believe Naravaneji has made certain statements in his book that are inconvenient for the Government of India and the Prime Minister of India. That is why there is an attempt to suppress it,” he claimed.
The controversy began last week when Rahul Gandhi attempted to read excerpts from a book review published by an Indian news website, relating to the India-China military stand-off in eastern Ladakh in 2020 — a confrontation that led to a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.
Gandhi was stopped by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who cited parliamentary rules prohibiting the inclusion of unpublished material in official records. Although Gandhi offered a personal guarantee regarding the authenticity of the excerpts, he was again prevented from reading them the following day.
This led to heated exchanges between members of the ruling BJP and opposition parties, resulting in the suspension of eight opposition MPs for the remainder of the current session. The disruption also forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel his scheduled Lok Sabha address, a move the Speaker attributed to opposition MPs allegedly planning an “attack” on the Prime Minister.
Subsequently, Rahul Gandhi wrote to Speaker Om Birla, lodging what he described as a strong protest over being prevented from speaking on an issue of national security. Calling the episode a “blot on our democracy,” Gandhi said the opposition was being systematically silenced in Parliament.
Meanwhile, political tensions are expected to rise further, with Speaker Om Birla likely to face a no-confidence motion when Parliament reconvenes next month for the second half of the Budget Session.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Bharatiya News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
