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Author: TNN
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: May 3, 2002
URL: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2002-05-03/news/27347197_1_sonia-gandhi-minister-atal-bihari-vajpayee-mental-balance
Taking his war of words with Sonia Gandhi further, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has taken strong exception to Congress president's remark in Porbandar that "Gandhiji's Gujarat was being turned into Godse's Gujarat''. Making his displeasure evident, Vajpayee, in a statement, made it clear that the comparison was unwarranted and unfair. "This is a gross and self-serving misrepresentation of what has happened in the state since February 27 when the Sabarmati Express was torched at Godhra,'' he said, adding. "Such pronouncements hardly help in creating a consensus on national issues''. The sharp rejoinder is yet another instance of the growing unpleasantness at the personal level between the Prime Minister and the leader of Opposition. From the time the Congress took its tally to fourteen states, Gandhi has become more confident and has been making direct attacks on the Prime Minister. She almost turned vitriolic at Guwahati when she said that Vajpayee had lost his mental balance, though she apologised for using such harsh language later. Vajpayee, on the other hand, too appears to be easily provoked. During the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address, Vajpayee took Gandhi to task on the floor of the House, rebutting the comments that she had made against him one by one. In his statement issued on Wednesday, Vajpayee expressed surprise that within 24 hours of acknowledging that she wanted to move towards dialogue and reconciliation, Gandhi had made a statement that was designed to evoke quite the opposite effect. While speaking on the Gujarat debate, Gandhi had said that the time had come to go from polarisation to reconciliation and from discord to dialogue. |
