‘This Is The Status Of The Book’: Gen Naravane Responds Amid Political Row Over Unpublished Memoir

New Delhi: Former Army Chief General Manoj Naravane responded to the ongoing controversy regarding his unpublished memoir on Tuesday. This comes a day after the Delhi Police registered a case with the Special Cell over the alleged leak of the pre-print copy of the book.

Taking to social media platform X, Naravane wrote, “This is the status of the book.” He reposted Penguin India's official statement regarding the book, which is reportedly his memoir.

The  Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi recently attempted to quote from General Naravane's unpublished memoir in the Lok Sabha, triggering massive furore amid the Parliament's budget session. A raging political row political row followed soon after.

Penguin India released a statement on the matter on Monday, where the publishing house said that it holds the sole publishing rights of the book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ and no copies have been published yet. Naravane has reposted that statement today.

"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 aforementioned post added.

Reports indicate that the Delhi Police have come across information circulating across various online social media platforms and news portals that claim that the pre-print copy of Naravane's book is available online. The Delhi Police's Special Cell has now taken up the investigation.

The police have also found a PDF version of the book, which seems to be prepared by Penguin Random House India Pvt. Limited, available on certain websites. Some online platforms were also seen to be displaying the book cover, as if the book was open for sale.

However, Rahul Gandhi accused the publisher of lying earlier today, claiming that the book was available for sale. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's X 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 (publisher) is lying. Both cannot be telling the truth,"  Gandhi told reporters outside the Parliament on Tuesday. 

Also read: 'Either General Naravane Or Publisher Is Lying': Rahul Gandhi Claims 'Four Stars of Destiny Was Available Online'