"Rahul Gandhi's fraudulent, fake book bomb has been busted": BJP's CR Kesavan

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 11 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CR Kesavan launched a sharp attack on Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi over the row surrounding former Army Chief General Naravane’s memoir, "Four Stars of Destiny", stating that his "fraudulent, fake book bomb has been busted." 

Targeting the Congress leader, Kesavan claimed that the controversy had exposed what he described as the Congress party’s attempt to create a political narrative around a book not yet in circulation. Kesavan further accused Gandhi of attempting to “poison political discourse” and disrupt parliamentary proceedings over the matter.   

"Rahul Gandhi's fraudulent, fake book bomb has been busted, and the deception of the Congress party's dirty tricks department has been totally exposed by the former Army chief's tweet reiterating the publisher's stand that the said book has not been published. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Prevarication, and his noxious attempts to poison the political discourse and even hold Parliament hostage have boomeranged on the Congress," CR Kesavan told ANI.  

On Tuesday, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's 2023 X post and claimed 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. 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.

Further, former Army Chief Naravane on Tuesday confirmed that his memoir, "Four Stars of Destiny", has not yet been published, backing Penguin Random House India's statement. Sharing a post on X, Gen Naravane wrote, "This is the status of the book." 

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Penguin Random House India issued a fresh statement in response to an allegation by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, clarifying that the book was announced and listed for pre-order but hasn't yet entered publication, distribution, or sale. Any circulating copies are unauthorised and constitute copyright infringement.

"A book is considered published only when it is available for purchase across retail channels," Penguin Random House said in a statement that it posted on its social media platforms."Pre-order is a standard publishing practice. It allows readers and retailers to place advance orders. The book is not yet published or available," it said.

Earlier, a political row erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the "pre-print book" version of Naravane's memoir during his speech in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address last week, with the treasury benches strongly opposing his remarks. The Speaker passed a ruling, asking the LoP not to quote unpublished literature. (ANI)