Author: Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: June 18, 2002
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/jun/18pm.htm
An unflattering article on Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by Time magazine has come in for severe criticism
with a large number of senior editors and eminent journalists expressing
shock, dismay and surprise over the article.
'India's leader (Vajpayee) takes
painkillers for his knees (which were replaced due to arthritis), has trouble
with his bladder, liver and his one remaining kidney, 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', the article by Time's India correspondent, Alex Perry, says.
"It is unfortunate that a magazine
of the reputation of Time would do a piece like this on our prime minister
who is the democratically elected leader of the largest democracy in the
world. It is an absolute abuse of the freedom given to the foreign correspondents
who work here," Independent News Service editor and renowned TV anchor
Rajat Sharma said.
Economic Times editor Arindam Sengupta
said there was 'no big deal' about the prime minister belonging to an unconventional
family.
"These things could be an issue
in the Western world, but Indian people are broad-minded and they have
accepted it," he told rediff.com.
As regards the prime minister's
health, Sengupta said, "The health of a leader would be a matter of interest
to the people, but the (Time) report appears to be going overboard."
Taking strong exception to the report,
Vinod Sharma, chief of the political bureau at the Hindustan Times, said,
"It is an insult to the people of India. Healthy or unhealthy, Vajpayee
is our prime minister. If the magazine cannot substantiate the questions
it has raised, it should tender an unqualified apology and in future refrain
from dabbling in such kind of speculative articles."
"I would not make too much of it.
There is a lot of bad journalism afoot," World Report editor and TV anchor
Saeed Naqvi said, lamenting the fall in standards of journalism over the
years.
"Remember the Fox News correspondent
in Afghanistan who carried a revolver and announced in front of the camera
that he would personally kill Osama bin laden, should he see him," he pointed
out.
"His editors justified the act saying
that it reflected the national mood. Ethics and standards in journalism
have plummeted even as technology has advanced," he said.
He said that he began to search
for the issue only after the government's rejoinder spawned a controversy.
In fact, "the official response has helped augment the sale of that particular
issue of Time magazine," he added.
Chandan Mitra, editor of the Pioneer
newspaper, criticised the report in a front page editorial saying, "To
write such gibberish about a man who leads one of the most open societies
in the world is not just in pathetic taste but also indicative of a mindset
that is contemptuous of non-Western societies."
Suman Dubey of the Wall Street Journal
and Reuters (India) chief Mayra MacDonald, however, declined to comment
on the plea that they had not read the report.
However, Rahul Bedi of the UK-based
Daily Telegraph said, "It is not saying anything that is untrue. Most of
it was common knowledge and Time magazine only published it."
Meanwhile, Perry is unapologetic
and attributes his sources to 'somebody very close to the prime minister'.
"The report speaks for itself and
there is no need for me to make any further comment," he said.
"I stand by my report," he told
rediff.com.
