Home News National Rahul Gandhi ‘Expose’ Fails Brilliantly – Pre-Orders Booked, Orders Cancelled; Buyers Never...

Rahul Gandhi ‘Expose’ Fails Brilliantly – Pre-Orders Booked, Orders Cancelled; Buyers Never Received Naravane Memoir

By
The Commune
-

A lot of drama and chaos has been generated in Parliament and in the public discourse, thanks to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s ‘expose’ using the memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane.

When Rahul Gandhi read pages from a The Caravan report, people wondered whether the book was indeed in circulation. Turns out it was never available. Here’s the proof.

It is true that the book was ready to be sold online – on platforms like Amazon and the publishers even started booking pre-orders much before the book was even published, or should we say – got the green signal for publication?

Here is MM Naravane’s tweet asking his followers to check the link to make their pre-order purchase.

This was in December 2023. Several of them placed their order and showed their excitement for the book’s publication.

Cut to 2026. Now that the book is back in the news, several Congress-supporting handles and media started sharing Naravane’s 2023 post claiming the book was indeed published.

Replying to a handle who had posted that she had placed the pre-order back in 2023, a netizen wrote whether she got the book. She replied in the negative and that Amazon had refunded the amount as a result of order cancellation.

This is in sync with the statements available in media from the government that the book is under review and was never published.

As per an India Today report, serious questions arose over how the memoir, a defence-related manuscript still under government review, was converted into printed book form and briefly reached bookstores despite the publisher maintaining that it was never published.

The India Today report says it had verified that bound copies had arrived at select Delhi bookstores before being recalled, citing a bookstore staffer who stated that hundreds of pre-orders had been taken but the books were returned to the publisher after controversy erupted. The report further stated that they spoke to an individual outside the publishing industry who had seen physical copies ready for sale.

While retired armed forces officers are not legally bound by prior-publication clearance rules applicable to serving personnel under the Army Act and Army Rules, the report noted that the Official Secrets Act continues to apply for life, criminalising disclosure of classified information. In practice, many retired officers and publishers voluntarily submit manuscripts to the Ministry of Defence or Service Headquarters for vetting, particularly when operational matters are discussed. Lt Gen KJS Dhillon (Retd) was quoted as saying that manuscripts dealing with operational issues are typically reviewed through a multi-tier Army Headquarters process that may approve, edit, or withhold clearance.

India Today Digital said Naravane himself had earlier indicated that his manuscript remained under Defence Ministry review, raising questions over whether Penguin Random House India had printed copies before final approval or whether some form of clearance had been granted and later withdrawn. The report also cited sources claiming Rahul Gandhi may have sourced a copy from the author or publisher, though it was not meant for circulation.

With Penguin insisting no copies were published, the emergence of bound hardcovers, including one seen in Parliament (which had several blank pages), had deepened the mystery, prompting the Delhi Police Special Cell to open a probe into the “purported leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved” publication and to investigate how both physical and digital copies entered circulation.

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR