Indian prime minister's office says Time magazine article in bad taste
From Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister's Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
office has decried a report in Time magazine as being replete with material
and factual errors and in bad taste and said his competence to control the
country's nuclear capabilities had never been questioned.
The report has already been dismissed by India's ministry of external
affairs as completely without foundation and a completely biased and
ill-informed article.
In a rejoinder to the report Asleep at the Wheel? (June 17), Ashok Tandon,
press aide to the prime minister, said in a letter to the newsmagazine that
what it carried amounted to purely fictitious notions about the prime
minister's lifestyle and was not just mischievous but also malicious.
Following is the text of Tandon's letter:
(text begins)
Your report Asleep at the Wheels (June 17) is in bad taste. It carries
several factual errors and contains certain observations about the Prime
Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which are nothing but fiction.
Mr. Vajpayee is 77 and not 74. His bladder and liver are perfectly normal
and he has an average cholesterol level.
However, there are more material errors spread throughout the report.
Purely fictitious notions about the Prime Minister's lifestyle are absurd
and mischievous. He does not take alcoholic drinks. Comments such as He
takes a three hour snooze every afternoon on doctor's orders and is given to
interminable silences, indecipherable ramblings and, not infrequently,
falling asleep in meetings are baseless. A post-lunch siesta is nothing
unusual. However, the Prime Minister's punishing schedule keeps him busy
from morning to late at night with a short break after lunch. Those familiar
with the rigour of Indian politics and the marathon Parliament sessions
which the Prime Minister has to cope with can vouch for his fitness.
Recently Mr. Vajpayee attended a night-long Parliament session for nearly 12
hours without a break. It is ridiculous to say that the Prime Minister falls
asleep in meetings. The use of phrases like he appears confused and
inattentive, seems shaky and lost, I am afraid, are, malicious.
Mr. Vajpayee has been in command for more than four years and his ability to
control the country's nuclear capabilities has never been questioned. The
media in India is free and TV crews have filmed him without any
restrictions. We have taken strong exceptions to your one-sided report
designed to tarnish the Prime Minister's image. Mr Vajpayee undoubtedly is a
towering personality and the most popular political figure in the country.
(ends text)
--Indo-Asian News Service
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