New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday raised sharp questions over the alleged circulation of former Indian Army chief General (Retd) Manoj Mukund Naravane’s unpublished memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, after the Delhi Police registered an FIR to investigate the matter.
Reacting to the controversy, Gandhi said there were contradictions between statements made by General Naravane and the clarification issued by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), the book’s publisher. Referring to a post made by Naravane on social media, Gandhi said, “Here is a tweet from Mr Naravane which says, ‘Just follow the link to my book.’ The point I am making is — either Mr Naravane is lying or it is Penguin which is lying. I don’t think the former Army chief will lie.”
Gandhi further claimed that the book was visible on online platforms, including Amazon, and cited Naravane’s earlier posts promoting the memoir. “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,” Gandhi said, adding that the former Army chief may have made statements in the book that are inconvenient for the Government of India and the Prime Minister of India.
General Naravane's X Post From 2023, Announcing Book Launch
In an X post dated December 15, 2023, General Naravane had written, “Hello friends. My book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy reading. Jai Hind.” He had also shared a screenshot of Penguin India’s X account featuring a pre-order link for the book.
Penguin Random House Issues Statement
The remarks come a day after Penguin Random House India issued a clarification amid mounting controversy, asserting that Four Stars of Destiny has not yet been published. The publisher said it holds the sole publishing rights to the memoir and that no copies, print or digital, have been published, distributed, sold, or made available to the public.
PRHI warned that any copies currently in circulation, in whole or in part, constitute copyright infringement. “Any unauthorised circulation, whether in print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, must immediately be ceased,” the publisher said, adding that it would pursue legal remedies against illegal dissemination.
The issue spilled into Parliament last week during the Budget Session when Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from what he described as a “pre-print” of the book while speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address. The excerpt reportedly referred to the 2017 Doklam military stand-off with China. However, repeated objections from treasury bench members, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, prevented him from reading it out, leading to multiple disruptions and adjournments.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have initiated legal action over the alleged leak. According to ANI, the Special Cell has registered an FIR after taking cognisance of claims circulating on social media and news forums regarding the availability of a pre-print copy of the book. Police officials said the case pertains to the purported leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication, and an investigation is underway to trace the source of the alleged circulation.
