NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Monday registered a case against an unpublished book by former Army Chief Gen Naravane being circulated on social media, police told news agency PTI.Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Gen Naravane’s book sparks a row Rahul Gandhi Citing excerpts from the former army chief’s unpublished memoirs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “failing to fulfill his responsibilities” in the 2020 India-China military conflict in Ladakh.
During an interview with reporters outside parliament congressional leaders Say: “The speaker says that this book does not exist, Rajnath Ji says that this book does not exist. This is Naravane Ji’s book in which he wrote the story of Ladakh…Narendra Modi Ji did not fulfill his responsibility. “Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on reading purported excerpts from Naravane’s yet-to-be-published book has drawn attention to rules and regulations that restrict senior military officials from revealing classified information or key leadership decisions even after retirement.Senior military officials, especially those handling classified information, must comply with the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, which restricts the publication of books or information even after retirement to prevent such classified material from being made public.While there is generally a one-year “cooling off” period for commercial or private employment, the rules for publishing secret content require prior government permission.Naravane, who served as Chief of Army Staff from December 31, 2019 to April 30, 2022, whose memoir “Four Stars of Destiny” is yet to be published as sensitive details about the 2020 Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff and the Agnipath plan are yet to be approved by the Ministry of Defence.There has been no official word from the publisher, author, or even the Ministry of Education on the status of the book.In case of violation of the above rules and regulations, the government can take legal action and such violation may also result in withholding of part or all of the pension of the officer concerned as per the CCS (Pension) Rules. If the memoir is published, it could “exacerbate” relations with China along the LAC.From May to June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in violent confrontations along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and Sikkim. The most notable was the clash in the Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. There were also casualties on the Chinese side. It was the deadliest confrontation in decades and resulted in a massive escalation of forces.Under the command of then General Naravane, India and China held a series of ground talks that led to a phased “disengagement” from the standoff area. So far, the situation along the Line of Actual Control has “thawed” after a series of disengagement agreements, but high-level military forward deployments on both sides still exist.
