Several Congress leaders on Friday accused Penguin Random House India (PRHI) of compromising freedom of expression over the publication of Sonia Gandhi's memoir 'Belonging: A Journey of Love' in India, with some questioning whether the publishing house was under government pressure.
Their reactions came after Penguin India said it is not the Indian publisher of Gandhi's memoir and denied reports that it decided against publishing the book because the Congress leader declined proposed editorial changes.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot questioned what was preventing the publishing house from releasing in India the same book being published internationally.
“What is this reason or pressure that prevents them from printing in India what is being printed worldwide?” Gehlot said in a post on X.
He alleged that pressure had been put on Penguin India to remove sections relating to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and China's alleged occupation of Indian territory during the Modi government.
“Pressuring and stopping the book of such a personality-rich, senior politician of the country and former Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is akin to murdering the freedom of expression,” Gehlot said.
“This is the murder of democracy. Why is this truth being hidden from the people of India? Will the Modi government also force publishers to alter facts under pressure?” he asked.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath also described the reported refusal to publish the memoir as a matter of “grave concern”.
“Will the publisher decide what a senior figure like Mrs Gandhi will write and what she will not? The question also arises whether the publisher is saying this on its own or if there is pressure from someone on it?” Nath said in a post on X.
He said the trend of books being stopped from publication under “suspicious circumstances” posed a serious threat to freedom of expression and called for Gandhi's memoir to be published soon.
Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi described Penguin India's statement as “weak”.
“Penguin India is more than happy to publish 'Exam Warriors' and several books on RSS. No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India,” Gogoi said on X.
Congress Seva Dal chief Srinivas BV also criticised the publishing house, saying its statement on “editorial independence” was unconvincing. The Seva Dal's official X account separately described Penguin India as “Paltu Penguin”.
The Indian Youth Congress questioned the publishing house over the editorial changes it had sought, saying, “Nobody asked whether you were ‘keen’. Tell us what changes you wanted, and why. The rest is corporate grammar.”
The organisation also posted “Introducing Penguin Janta Party” and “Penguin hai ya pinjare ka parinda” on X.
Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba accused Penguin and PRHI of resorting to “blackmailing tactics” and praised Gandhi for refusing to “bow down”.
Congress's Kerala unit also took a swipe at the government, posting, “Peacock blocking penguin is just an old man's fantasy. Nothing can stop 'Belonging' from reaching you.”
Penguin Random House India had earlier published a statement, clarifying it is not the publisher of Belonging in India and disputed the reported reason for its decision.
“Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of Belonging in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” it said in an official statement.
The publishing house said fact-checking and providing editorial recommendations were part of the normal publishing process.
“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process,” it said.
Penguin India added that it had remained “willing and keen to publish the book” throughout the relevant discussions and said it would not comment further on “confidential discussions with the author”.
Earlier in June, PRHI had dropped journalist and author Joe Sacco's graphic novel on Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 after taking into account "local legal, regulatory, commercial, and market considerations".
Reports had suggested that the publisher pulled the plug on the book's distribution over "an inaccurate map" and that "no changes are forthcoming" from the originating publisher.
The publisher also made headlines in February for saying that it had "not printed" former Army Chief General M M Naravane's memoir "Four Stars of Destiny". This was days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flashed a hard copy of the book in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the status of the book's Indian publisher remains unclear. However, an e-book edition of Belonging was listed for pre-order on Amazon at Rs 2,615.
According to the Amazon listing, the e-book is published by William Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins UK.
The book is scheduled for international release on November 10 through Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Knopf had announced an initial print run of one lakh copies.
According to Knopf, the 79-year-old Congress leader's memoir will recount her journey from marrying into one of India's most prominent political families to the death of her husband Rajiv Gandhi, which pushed her into the “public world of politics”. It will also reportedly cover her decision to turn down the prime minister's post in 2004.
(With inputs from PTI)