Penguin India denies external pressure over Sonia Gandhi memoir: 'Impasse on particular issue'

The publishing house revealed that there was an impasse over a "particular issue" during Sonia Gandhi's "Belonging: A Journey of Love" discussions.

Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Monday denied facing external pressure over the decision not to publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's memoir. This comes after a controversy erupted over the Indian publication of the anticipated memoir, and since then the row has garnered widespread attention.

Following reports that the PRHI had backed out of publishing Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's memoir, a row erupted both in political circles and on social media. (File Photo/PTI)

The publishing house also clarified that there was an impasse over a "particular issue" during "Belonging: A Journey of Love" discussions, news agency PTI reported.

While US-based Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, had reportedly announced that the book would be released on November 10 worldwide.

What Penguin Random House India said

PRHI strongly denied the claims that the decision over the Congress leader's memoir was driven by outside intervention.

Pallavi Narayan, spokesperson of PRHI, said in a statement to PTI that the publishing house was "keen on publishing" the book as it was a "hard-won acquisition".

"We feel it is important for us to correct certain misrepresentations regarding the forthcoming memoir 'Belonging'. This is a book that we at Penguin Random House India, were really keen on publishing as it was a hard-won acquisition," Narayan said.

The publisher emphasised, "Since the content of the book is confidential and under embargo, there was no external pressure whatsoever."

It further said the manuscript had gone through its "normal editorial process" during which several points were raised and deliberated upon.

The statement added, "On some, they agreed to changes and on others, we accepted the author's position. Unfortunately, and ultimately, an understanding could not be reached on a particular issue."

Subsequently, the author's team informed the publisher that they did not wish to proceed with the publication, PRHI said.

However, the publisher declined to reveal the specific point of disagreement, citing binding agreements and author confidentiality.

"Since we are bound by an agreement, and author confidentiality is paramount to us, we will not divulge details of what led to the impasse," the publisher said.

"We did just that with Belonging as well," it said.

This clarification reiterates the publishing house's earlier position that it remained willing and keen to publish the memoir.

Sonia Gandhi memoir row

Following reports that the PRHI had backed out of publishing the memoir, the row erupted both in political circles and on social media.

Several Congress leaders, including former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, raised concerns and questioned whether outside influence shaped the decision.

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, "The attempts by Congress leaders to spin stories and manufacture a false narrative of fear over the release of Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s memoir are not merely ironic, they are glaringly hypocritical."

About Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's memoir

Titled "Belonging: A Journey of Love", the book reportedly documents Sonia Gandhi's childhood in post-war Italy, her marriage into the Nehru-Gandhi family, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and her subsequent entry into Indian politics.

(with inputs from PTI)