Rahul Gandhi held up a book on Parliament Square today as he doubled down on his claim that the Modi government had mishandled the border dispute with China. This is the same book that Leader of Opposition Gandhi wanted to quote in the Lok Sabha, but it was stopped as it had not yet been published. He emphasized that he was only quoting from a magazine article that carried excerpts from this book. But he could not, as the Lok Sabha Speaker and the ruling BJP-led NDA cited rules against such quotations.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi speaks to the media as he displays a copy of the unpublished “memoir” of former army chief MM Naravane during the budget session of Parliament. (PTI)On Wednesday, in the third consecutive day of debate, he brought a printed version of the book – which is currently pending approval from the defense ministry – to the Parliament premises and flashed it to the cameras.
What is the book in the center of the row?Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General MM Naravaan’s autobiography or memoir, ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is not available for purchase as it required government approval which is yet to be granted.
Also read: Between ‘publisher and MoD’: What General MM Naravane says in his book on Rahul Gandhi vs BJP loss
“I am confident, this book was never published,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh asserted in the Lok Sabha.
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That didn’t stop Rahul Gandhi from creating a dramatic moment on Wednesday by holding a copy.
“Look, it exists — the book the government says it doesn’t,” he said.
What Rahul Gandhi demanded: ‘What should be agreed, what should be done’In a video posted on his X handle, he also said, “I don’t think the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will have the courage to come to the Lok Sabha today, because if he comes I will give him this book. So, if the Prime Minister comes, I will physically go and hand over this book to him.”
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Gen Naravane has not spoken on the issue so far, though he has confirmed in the past that the book is pending MoD approval.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that the former army chief wrote that when he informed other leaders, including Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval, about “Chinese tanks coming”, he did not get a direct reply for a long time.
“And then he wrote that the Prime Minister’s message was conveyed to him, ‘Jo khiti samjho, oh karo’ (‘Do what you think is right’)… That means Narendra Modi ji did not do his duty; effectively asking the army chief to handle it because he could not decide,” the Congress leader said, speaking in Hindi.
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Rahul Gandhi also claimed, “Naravane ji clearly said that he felt alone and abandoned by the entire organization.”
Rahul Gandhi wrote in X, “It is true that I am being prevented from speaking in Parliament. The country is asking questions, and the government is running away from answering.”
Gandhi’s insistence on quoting a section on the 2020 border tensions with China from the unpublished book with a quoted quote in The Caravan magazine caused an official uproar. Parliament adjourned the Lok Sabha from Monday, February 2 to discuss the motion of thanks to the President’s address for the budget session.
‘Wrong facts, let him present the book’: What Rajnath Singh said in the House
Rajnath Singh and others named in the book did not respond to the Express complaint.
Earlier, Rajnath Singh and other leaders had insisted in the Lok Sabha that quoting from a book that was not published was not only against the rules of Parliament but “against national interest” and “harmful to national security”.
Rajnath argued “with full confidence” in the Lok Sabha on Monday – as Rahul Gandhi held up a printout of the article quoting from the book – that the allegations made in the unpublished book were “not true”, so it was kept.
He asked rhetorically why the author of the claimed book (Jane Narvane) “didn’t go to court” over the pending approval “if the facts in it are correct”.
Rajnath, Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP MPs have repeatedly said the book was “never published”. Speaker Om Birla agreed with their contention.
“The book that (Rahul Gandhi) is claiming to be quoting from should be presented. I want to see it; this House wants to see it,” Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
The debate continued on Tuesday.
For the third day, the Lok Sabha was again adjourned on Wednesday amid sloganeering by opposition members over the suspension of eight MPs during the previous day’s budget session. 2020 S with China in East Ladakh Members were adjourned for the remainder of the session after an uproar over Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on mentioning the adjournment by “throwing papers at chairs”.
When General Naravane said ‘as they see fit’Rahul Gandhi may have held a printed copy but General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ was not actually available for purchase or access by the public.
It was scheduled for release in April 2024, according to a pre-order announcement made by the publisher, Penguin, in late 2023.
Amazon still has a listing that says in the price section: “Currently unavailable. We do not know when or if this item will be back in stock.”
The former army chief was asked about the book at a literature festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in October 2025, where he was in a session on his recently published fiction ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’.
“I just want to ask you, why isn’t your first book cleared and published,” an audience member said during the livecast session.
“Even I want to know that,” said General Naravane.
“No, no, you must know something,” the audience member insisted.
“My job was to write the book and give it to the publishers. It was to get permission from the MoD (Ministry of Defence) for the publishers. They gave it to them, and it’s still under review,” he said.
He added that it has been under review for “more than a year now” until October 2025.
“So it’s not for me, it’s beyond; not really for me to follow,” added General Naravane, “the ball is in the court of the publisher and the MoD. But I enjoyed writing the book, for better or worse, and that’s… for the MoD to give permission when they see fit.”
What book list says: ‘…when he was chief in Galwan’While it is considered standard practice for scrutinized books to examine sensitive material by former senior military officers, General Naravan’s book created controversy for revealing discussions on issues such as Project Agnipath and the Galwan clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed fighting the Chinese.
Also read: Who is Manoj Mukund Naravane? Former Indian army chief at center Rahul Gandhi vs Modi government in Lok Sabha
General MM Naravane served as the Chief of Army Staff of India from December 2019 to April 2022.
Its Amazon and Flipkart listings say it has 448 pages.
The description reads: “From his first encounter with the Chinese as a young officer in Sikkim to dealing with them at Galwan when he was in charge, from the day-to-day incidents of firing across the LC to the implementation of the ceasefire with Pakistan, General Naravane takes us through his distinguished career spanning over four decades that has seen him operate in all corners of the country.”
Naravan’s other book, the military thriller ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’, was released in March 2025. This fictional account features two officers from a defense academy investigating a case of attack and murder on a garrison.
