Rahul questions Penguin, cites Gen Naravane on book release

PTI

New Delhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday cited a December 2023 social media post by former Army chief M M Naravane informing people that that his book is “available now”, to rebut publisher Penguin Random House India’s statement that the ‘memoir’ has not yet been published.

Gandhi said he believes the word of the former Army chief over Penguin.

After Gandhi’s remarks, publisher Penguin Random House India (PRHI) said an announcement about a book or its availability for pre-order should not be interpreted as publication.

In its statement under the heading “A quick guide to how book publishing works at Penguin Random House India”, the publisher said, “An announced book, a book available for pre-order, and a published book are not the same thing.”

Naravane also shared on X a statement issued by the publisher of his memoir, “Four Stars of Destiny”, that says no copies of the book “in print or digital form have been published, distributed, sold” or otherwise made available to the public.

Speaking with reporters in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi read out 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 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,” the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha 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,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader also said that 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 the Opposition MPs were carrying near the Makar Dwar of Parliament during their protest, which read ‘Narender Surrender’, Gandhi said that “this has happened, and the Indo-US trade deal happened because of this”.

Earlier, Penguin Random House India said it holds the exclusive publishing rights to General 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 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,” the publisher said in a statement.

It added 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.