'I trust General Naravane': Rahul Gandhi on publisher's statement on ex-army chief's 'Four Stars of Destiny'

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Penguin Random House India (PRHI), publisher of former Army chief General Naravane's Four Stars of Destiny, of lying and claimed that the book was available for sale.

On Monday, PRHI had issued a statement that the book had not gone into publication and no copies, print or digital, had been published, distributed, sold, or made available to the public.

Gandhi, however, quoted General Naravane's social media post from 2023 and claimed that the memoir was available for sale online.

"Hello friends, my book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy Reading, Jai Hind. This is the tweet Mr Naravane made. Either he is lying, which I don't believe, or the Penguin is lying. Both cannot be telling the truth. 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? I believe Naravane ji has made certain statements in his book which are inconvenient for the Government of India and the Prime Minister. Obviously, you have to decide if Penguin or the former Army chief is telling the truth," the Congress MP said.

In a statement on X, PRHI said, "In light of recent public discourse and media reporting, 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. No copies of the book - in print or digital form - have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India."

The publisher further warned that any copies currently in circulation, in any format or on any platform, constitute a copyright infringement and must be immediately ceased.

It threatened of legal action against the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the book.

"Any copies of the book currently in circulation, in whole or in part, whether in print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, on any platform, constitute an infringement of PRHI's copyright and must immediately be ceased. Penguin Random House India shall be exercising remedies available in law against the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the book," PRHI said.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR regarding various social media platforms and news forums claiming that a pre-print copy of the book is being circulated, and Special Cell has filed a case into the "purportd leak/breach of a yet to be approved publication".

A political row erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the "pre-print book" of Naravane during his speech in Lok Sabha on the motion of Thanks on the President's Address last week.