Penguin issues fresh clarification in Naravane Memoir row: ‘Book published only when it's on sale'

Former Army chief MM Naravane

• Penguin India clarified Four Stars of Destiny is not yet published or for sale
• Rahul Gandhi questioned Penguin's statements, citing a tweet by General Naravane
• Confusion over pre-order listing vs. actual publication sparks controversy

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Amid the continuing controversy over General (Retd.) MM Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny, Penguin India on Tuesday issued a fresh clarification, stressing that an announced title, a pre-order listing and a published book are separate stages. It said a book is deemed published only when it is made available for sale across retail channels.

“A book is considered published only when it is available for purchase at retail channels for purchase," Penguin Random House India said on X. It reiterated that Four Stars of Destiny has not been published in any format.

Statement from the Publisher. pic.twitter.com/WqLaptY7o7

— Penguin India (@PenguinIndia) February 10, 2026

The renewed clarification comes after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi questioned the publisher’s stand, alleging inconsistencies over the book’s status.

Gandhi on Tuesday shared a December 2023 tweet from General Naravane, a screenshot of which was shared by fact-checker Mohd. Zubair, and suggested Penguin was "lying".

"Here is a tweet from (General) Naravane which says, 'Just follow the link to my book'…" Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament. "The point I am making is this: either (General) Naravane is lying, or Penguin is lying (and) I do not think the former Army Chief would lie."

The controversy over Four Stars of Destiny erupted last week after Rahul Gandhi said he wanted to read out excerpts from a book review published by an Indian news website related to the 2020 India-China stand-off in Ladakh, which later escalated into a violent clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla, too, attacked Gandhi, calling him a “national embarrassment" and accusing him of not understanding the difference between a pre-order listing and a published book.

According to him,  the tweet cited by Gandhi referred only to a pre-order and raised questions over how Gandhi accessed the book in the first place, asking whether it amounted to violations of the Copyright Act and the Official Secrets Act.