Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday questioned the contradictory claims surrounding the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Four Stars of Destiny.
Speaking to reporters, Gandhi referred to a post shared by General Naravane on social media platform X, in which the former Army Chief appeared to announce the availability of his book. Gandhi argued that the post contradicted the publisher's assertion that the memoir has not yet been released.
'MM Naravane has posted on X saying, 'Hello friends, my book is available now. Follow the link. Happy reading.' Either MM Naravane is lying or Penguin is lying. I choose to believe the Army Chief,' Gandhi said, adding that both claims could not be true.
He further alleged that certain portions of the memoir were 'inconvenient for the government,' suggesting that this may be the reason behind the controversy.
Gandhi also referred to posters displayed by Opposition MPs during their protest and made an oblique remark linking the Indo-US trade deal, General Naravane's book, and the Epstein case, without elaborating on the connection.
The X post cited by Gandhi was shared by General Naravane on December 15, 2023, and read: 'Hello friends. My book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy reading. Jai Hind.'
The issue has escalated into a political controversy after Penguin Random House India clarified that Four Stars of Destiny has not yet gone into publication and that any copies currently in circulation are unauthorised.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the alleged circulation of a pre-print copy of the memoir.