'This is the status': Ex-Army chief MM Naravane breaks silence amid memoir row, shares publisher’s note

“This is the status of the book,” General Naravane wrote on X, reposting the publisher’s statement.

Penguin Random House India said it holds the exclusive publishing rights to Four Stars of Destiny, General Naravane’s memoir, and clarified that the book has not been published in any form.

The publisher said the statement was issued in response to reports claiming that unauthorised copies of the manuscript were circulating.

“No copies of the book — in print or digital form — have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by the publisher,” Penguin said, adding that any material currently in circulation constitutes a violation of its copyright and must be stopped immediately.

The clarification comes amid a growing political row that has spilled into Parliament.

The Delhi Police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation into what they describe as the suspected illegal distribution of material from a publication that has not yet received final approval.

The controversy escalated after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was seen holding up what he described as a copy of the memoir within the Parliament complex last week.

Gandhi attempted to cite excerpts from the book in the Lok Sabha from February 2 onwards, but was disallowed on the grounds that the book had not been formally published.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex on Wednesday, Gandhi again referred to the “unreleased memoir” and displayed a copy of the book, insisting that young people in India should know of its existence.

“The Speaker has said this book does not exist, the government has said it does not exist, and the Defence Minister has said it does not exist. Every youngster in India should see that this book exists,” he said.

Gandhi claimed the memoir contains a detailed account of events during the 2020 India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh and said he had been barred from quoting from it in the House.

Police and publishing officials said further investigation is underway to determine how the alleged copies entered circulation.