The Hindu : I did not mean it: Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 15, 2002

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I did not mean it: Sonia

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRil 14. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today sought to defuse the controversy over her remarks about the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. In a statement this evening, Ms. Gandhi clarified that she was "not happy about the expression" she had used in Guwahati on Saturday.

At a press conference in Guwahati, Ms. Gandhi had, in response to a question about Mr. Vajpayee's challenge to her, remarked that he had lost his "dimagi santulan (mental balance)". Later, she informally clarified that what she had meant was that Mr. Vajpayee was increasingly losing his cool.

Today, she formally clarified that the term she had used was not intentional and happened on the spur of the moment. "It was not meant by me," she said. Ms. Gandhi, however, expressed "grave concern" at the frequent changes in the stand of the Prime Minister on the secular issues, in general, and the disturbing situation in Gujarat, in particular. "The latest illustration of this inconsistency is the contrast between the speech made by him in Gujarat and the one in Goa," she said. It was important to note that Mr. Vajpayee was not only a leader of the BJP but also the Prime Minister, the statement added.

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