It was February 2. The Lok Sabha was debating the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. The Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, suddenly walked in holding a magazine and began reading out excerpts from an ‘unpublished’ book, accusing Prime Minister Modi of adopting a weak stance on China.
Now, under parliamentary rules, no unpublished book can be quoted in the House. Consequently, Speaker Om Birla stopped him.
But Rahul Gandhi being Rahul Gandhi, why would he listen to anyone?
The very next day, in a burst of over-enthusiasm, he arrived in Parliament carrying a book, seemingly to prove, “Look, the book has already been published, and the government is conspiring to stop me from speaking in Parliament.”
According to Rahul Gandhi, the book he brought along was a hardcover copy of Four Stars of Destiny, the unpublished autobiography of General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
But in his eagerness, he made a major blunder. The entire debate shifted away from what was supposedly written in General Naravane’s autobiography to a far more basic question: how did Rahul Gandhi get hold of this copy?
This was especially significant because Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had already stated on record in the House that the book had not yet been published.
TFIPost raised the same question that very day and sought answers regarding the book’s authenticity from the publisher, the author, and Rahul Gandhi himself. (That report can be read here.)
Penguin Claims Rahul Gandhi’s Copy Was ‘Fake’
As reports emerged about unauthorized copies of the book being leaked and circulated online, the Delhi Police registered an FIR in the matter. Once the FIR was filed, Penguin Books—which until then had been silently watching the spectacle—finally issued a clarification. The publisher clearly stated that the book had not been published, and that no part of it had been made public. In other words, neither a printed copy nor a digital version had been officially released.
According to Penguin, this means that the Leader of the Opposition either walked into Parliament with an illegally obtained private copy, or he was holding a completely fabricated counterfeit version—one that he confidently displayed to the entire nation while claiming that the opposition was being treated unfairly.
Dragging General Naravane Into a Self-Defence
After Penguin’s refusal, Rahul Gandhi clearly realized that he had spilled a fair amount of “raita.” In an attempt to clean it up and salvage his credibility, he decided to drag General Naravane into the controversy as well.
Outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi read out an old X post by General Naravane in front of the media, which said:
“Hello friends, my book is now available. Follow the link. Happy reading.”
With calculated cleverness, Rahul Gandhi shifted the burden onto General Naravane and claimed that either General Naravane was lying, or Penguin was. Rahul Gandhi even added, “I believe General Naravane will not lie.”
But here’s the interesting part. The post Rahul Gandhi quoted—or rather misquoted (no doubt provided by his learned research team)—nowhere states that the book has been released in the market or is available for sale. Penguin’s post merely spoke about pre-orders, which is a standard marketing practice in publishing. General Naravane had simply reposted Penguin’s announcement with a brief comment.
General Naravane’s Graceful Reply to Rahul Gandhi: “You Spilled It Yourself, Clean It Up Yourself”
Rahul Gandhi was attempting to dump the entire mess on General Naravane and quietly slip away, but the General saw through this tactic in time and completely foiled it.
General Naravane reposted Penguin’s clarification and stated that the status of his autobiography was exactly as described by the publisher—that the book had not yet been published.
Now, since Rahul Gandhi himself publicly claimed that “General Naravane will not lie” and that he trusted him, one thing becomes abundantly clear: if anyone is lying at this point, it is Rahul Gandhi himself.
The Defence Minister, the publisher, and the author have all clearly stated that the book has not been published. This makes it evident that the copy Rahul Gandhi carried into Parliament that day was not just fake, but a forged book created through manipulation.
What makes this even more ironic is that the opposition went on to disrupt parliamentary proceedings using their leader’s illegal and forged act as justification. The disruption went so far that even the Prime Minister’s speech in the Lok Sabha had to be cancelled.
The opposition claims that their leader was not allowed to speak in the House. But what exactly did he want to speak about—reading from a pirated book?
The question that now remains is whether Rahul Gandhi will apologize for this episode, or continue trying to gather the scattered “raita.”
Especially since, after the publisher’s and author’s clarifications, he is now under the scanner of a Delhi Police investigation. And interestingly, all of this was said and done outside Parliament, where parliamentary privilege does not apply—meaning there is no immunity from legal action.
