Posted on 06/20/2002 2:15:13 PM PDT by AM2000
NEW DELHI: A week after Time magazine published an article that commented pejoratively on Prime Minister Vajpayee, the home ministry-run Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) swung into action against its principal author.
Correspondent Alex Perry has been summoned and asked to "explain" his alleged possession of more than one passport. Perry, who was outstation on Thursday, which was also his birthday, will appear before the FRRO on Friday.
The FRRO extended the deadline after Time sought an extension, but stipulated that legal proceedings would be initiated if he failed to appear. Sources in Time described the summons as "rubbish", saying the "so-called" two passports were nothing more than "one passport with an attached booklet of additional pages".
"Under the British system", sources said, "the additional booklet is provided a different number". However, both documents were glued together and there was no question of the Indian visa being in a different passport.
Asked whether these proceedings were related to the Time article on the Prime Minister, sources in the magazine said, "Can you imagine this kind of investigation taking place in 24 hours or 48 hours"? They also pointed to the fact that Indian missions abroad had been active in taking this up with the magazine.
The latest issue of the magazine carries a clarification issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. The article had questioned Vajpayee’s ability to control the nuclear button in view of what it claimed were his failing health and drinking habits, citing sources speaking about his lapses of memory and coherence.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2002 11:13:21 PM ]
NEW DELHI: He came for dinner and stayed on to chat with whoever was available for about a hundred minutes.
In the unhurried, informal atmosphere Prime Minister Vajpayee smiled benignly, but responded only in monosyllables to mediapersons’ queries about his health and future moves. The occasion was a dinner hosted by I & B minister Sushma Swaraj for the recipients of the annual awards instituted by RSS weekly Panchajanya on Wednesday night. The eclectic crowd comprised editors, politicians and senior bureaucrats.
What invested the PM’s presence with curiosity and significance were the recent reports in the Western media about his state of health and the prospects of an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
Among those who posed queries to the Prime Minister were senior functionaries of the BJP-RSS brotherhood and members of the press. Despite persistent efforts by the mediapersons to draw him out, Vajpayee remained unruffled, smiling and making an occasional brief remark. For instance, he said he enjoyed watching presidential candidate Kalam’s performance at a press conference on television.
But by his presence at the dinner Vajpayee clearly sought to make an important point. ‘‘Don’t I look well?’’ he seemed to be saying to dispel any impressions to the contrary in the wake of the report.
With no other engagement for the evening, Vajpayee had time for everyone who had something to say. The question about his health automatically came up. Complimented by someone for ‘‘looking all right,’’ the PM paused for a moment for an appropriate response. Before he spoke, Sushma intervened by stressing that he was indeed all right, and that there was no question of ‘‘looking’’ all right.
This isn't a very comforting revelation, though.
Nothing.
The concern about Vajpayee, on the other hand, concerns his Chronic Alcoholism which all indicators quite clearly demonstrate is rapidly advancing -- with all of the symptoms present of early stage Korsokoff's Syndrome -- into its terminal stages.
And that, My Dear Swarthy One -- is -- Old Boy -- a bit of a bloody worry!
And the concern remains about Vajpayee's Chronic Alcoholism which, all the indicators quite clearly demonstrate, is rapidly advancing -- with all of the symptoms present of early stage Korsokoff's Syndrome -- into its terminal stages.
And THAT, is of concern to all rational men!
Vajpayee from what I know has a pretty alert mind and is in control of things. In his youth he drank heavily too and so do most politicians and reporters in India. A deal is usually done over scotch - and they are quite hypocritical about it as they would not want this to be known publicly - after all Gandhi propagated prohibition.
I'm not waving anything. I'm just pointing out that Vajpayee's illnesses are irrelevant, since the real power behind the throne is someone else.
I actually witnessed one of those when he got out of his 1948 Morris Oxford -- um -- I mean -- 1998 Ambassador "limosine" and stumbled off with no shoes at all. He was so pissed he could barely walk and had to wait, swaying about, until an aide retrieved his sandles from the car and caught up with him.
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