At what stage is Naravane’s book, complete information posted

Amid the ongoing controversy over former Army Chief General (retd) MM Naravane’s book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, Penguin Random House India on Tuesday issued a fresh clarification. The publisher clarified that announcement of the book, pre-order listing and publication are three different stages. According to the company, a book is considered ‘published’ only when it is available for retail sale.

This entire controversy deepened when Congress MP Rahul Gandhi raised questions on the stand of the publisher. Rahul Gandhi accused Penguin of lying by citing an old tweet of General Naravane from December 2023.

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Penguin issued a statement

Penguin India shared a post on social media platform X, detailing the process of publishing a book at Penguin Random House India. In the statement, Penguin said that an announced book, a pre-order book, and a published book are not the same thing. Then he explained these processes in detail in four points.

Penguin India further said that when a publisher announces a new book, it is only announced, not published. Readers can pre-order the book in advance, but it is still not considered available in the market. The release date of the book means that it is planned to be launched on the same date. A book is considered published only when it becomes available for purchase in stores and online.

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Naravane also reacted

Former Army Chief General (retd) MM Naravane also reposted Penguin India’s first clarification social media post. In its caption he wrote, ‘This is the status of the book.’

Where did this controversy start?

This controversy started last week. This matter increased further during the budget session of Parliament. During the session, Rahul Gandhi mentioned a magazine article based on General Naravane’s yet-to-be-published book. He spoke on the issue for less than five minutes, but his words sparked a heated debate in Parliament.