The Delhi Police has lodged an FIR regarding the circulation of an unpublished book by former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on social media, an official statement said on Monday, as reported by PTI.
“Delhi Police has taken cognizance of information circulating on social media platforms and online news forums alleging that a pre-printed copy of a book titled ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is being distributed without mandatory permission from the relevant authorities,” it said in a statement.
According to the police statement, it was also informed that they are yet to receive the necessary permission from the relevant authorities to publish this book.
“Upon verification, it was found that a PDF copy of a set book with the same title and apparently prepared by M/s Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd is available on certain websites.
Police said a case has been registered with a special cell to conduct a thorough investigation into this alleged leak or violation of a yet-to-be-sanctioned publication and investigation is on, PTI reported.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen flashing an alleged copy of the book in the Parliament complex last week. The matter created immense excitement as the Lok Sabha was adjourned and eight MPs were suspended for the remainder of the ongoing budget session over the matter.
Rahul Gandhi says “PM didn’t come to House for…”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continued his criticism of the government over its plan to talk about the dispute with China in 2020, which is mentioned in former army chief MM Naravane’s book, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was avoiding the Lok Sabha “because he was afraid of what we would say to him” and “was afraid of being handed General Naravane’s book as a first step”.
Speaking to reporters, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, dismissed criticism that opposition members may have resorted to an “unprecedented situation” in the House, saying “there is no doubt that our members would attack the Prime Minister” and asked if anyone had said that why the government had not taken any action.
“The story started a few days ago when the Naravane book came out and the government didn’t want me to discuss it at all. So they stopped the House. They didn’t let me speak. It happened three or four times. First they said I can’t quote the book. Then I said I’m not quoting the book, I’m quoting the magazine. Then they said I don’t want to talk about the magazine.” The defense minister falsely said that the book was not released and we have a copy of it too, so that is one big problem that he did not allow the LoP and the entire opposition to speak to the president, he quoted books, many books, and said nothing.
He also said the government was “concerned” about holding the EU budget debate because the deal with the US and its impact on farmers would be discussed.
(With input from agencies)
