BJP, Congress spar over Penguin India’s decision not to publish Sonia Gandhi's book

New Delhi, Aug 29 (AHN) A political controversy has erupted over Penguin India’s decision not to publish Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's memoir, with BJP leaders dismissing allegations of government interference and a Congress MP claiming that the publisher may have faced "backdoor" pressure from the Centre.

Reacting to the issue in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the disagreement appeared to be between the author and the publisher and should not be politicised.

“There is some kind of disagreement between the author and the publisher. The publisher has their own prerogative, and the author has their own viewpoint. Instead of bringing it into politics, they could have found another publisher. What is the need to bring the Government of India into this?” Shekhawat said.

In Patna, Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav also said the government had no role in the matter. “A book has been written on the biography of Madam Sonia ji, but it has not been published. The government has nothing to do with it. If the publisher is not publishing it, then the matter concerns the Congress party, the people who wrote the biography and the publishing house. The government has no interference in it,” he said.

BJP leader T.R. Srinivas, speaking in Hyderabad, said the book, titled 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', had generated a major controversy. He questioned the timing of the decision and alleged that the book contained selective references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and China.

“The timing looks political, non-literary,” Srinivas said, alleging that Penguin had objected because “anytime when you publish a book, it has to be factual.”

BJP National Vice President, M. Nagaraja, however, struck a more cautious note. “Regarding Sonia Gandhi's autobiography, Penguin has already said that they are not publishing it. We have not seen or read the book, so it is too early to comment on it,” he said.

Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh, meanwhile, claimed that the publisher could have faced government pressure. “This is absolutely wrong. No publisher can put pressure on an author. An author has their own views and experiences, which they write about in their book. There must have been pressure from the government on the publisher through the backdoor,” he said.

Earlier on Friday Penguin Random House India announced that it will not publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s much-awaited autobiography,' Belonging: A Journey of Love'.

“Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish ‘Belonging’ because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” the publisher said in a statement.

The publisher also defended its editorial process, saying, “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.”