Speaking to reporters, Gandhi questioned the publisher’s assertion that the book had not been released and pointed to what he described as contradictions between Penguin’s statement and General Naravane’s earlier public remarks.
“Here is a tweet from Mr Naravane which says, ‘Just follow the link to my book’,” Gandhi said. “The point I am making is—either Mr Naravane is lying or Penguin is lying. I don’t think the former Army chief will lie.”
Gandhi argued that despite Penguin’s claim that the memoir had not gone into publication, the book appeared to have been promoted publicly in the past. He cited alleged listings on Amazon and earlier social media posts by General Naravane encouraging readers to buy the book.
“Penguin says the book has not been published. But the book is available on Amazon. Gen. Naravane has tweeted, ‘Please buy my book in 2023.’ I believe Naravane ji over Penguin. Do you believe Penguin over Naravane ji?” Gandhi asked.
The Congress leader further alleged that the controversy may have arisen due to the contents of the memoir itself. According to him, the book may contain statements that are uncomfortable for the government.
“I believe Naravane ji has made certain statements in his book which are inconvenient for the government of India and the Prime Minister of India,” Gandhi said, adding that the public must decide who is telling the truth—the publisher or the former Army chief.
His remarks came a day after Penguin Random House India issued a statement clarifying that it holds exclusive publishing rights to the memoir titled Four Stars of Destiny and that the book has not yet been officially released.
“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,” the statement said. “We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication.”
The publisher also stated that no copies of the memoir had been made available in any format and warned that any version currently in circulation would amount to copyright infringement. It added that legal action would be taken against any unauthorised dissemination of the manuscript.
Earlier, the Delhi Police registered an FIR and assigned its Special Cell to investigate the alleged leak or circulation of the memoir in digital and other formats.
The controversy first surfaced last week when Rahul Gandhi was seen holding what he claimed was a copy of the memoir within the Parliament complex. He sought to quote excerpts from the book in the Lok Sabha from February 2 onwards but was disallowed on the grounds that the memoir had not been officially published.
