Date:15/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/15/stories/2003011505930100.htm

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Naipaul faults Govt. handling of Tehelka

By Anita Joshua

Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul and his wife, Nadira, at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI JAN. 14. Upset with the manner in which the Government had "persecuted'' those associated with the Tehelka portal, the Nobel laureate, V. S. Naipaul, today hoped that the Government would at some point of time withdraw from "the sorry state of affairs'' and admit its "lack of graciousness.''

Here to participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations, Sir Vidia and his wife, Nadira Naipaul, met the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, to discuss the Tehelka case and impress upon him the fact that the Tehelka story had damaged the image of India overseas. Also, according to him, Mr. Advani indicated that the "nature of the coalition'' was responsible for the way the case had been handled.

Though not quite sure of how the matter would be resolved, Sir Vidia was optimistic and said "probably something good will come out of the ashes.'' And, he based his optimism on the fact that though the Government had been successful in destroying Tehelka, the task undertaken by the portal and the manner in which "Tarun Tejpal and his team stood up to the persecution'' had been "acclaimed by a large section of the Indian population.''

Talking to mediapersons along with Mr. Tejpal at a press conference here primarily to articulate his support for Tehelka — of which he is a Board member — and his views on the BJP, the Nobel laureate said he was disappointed with the handling of the Tehelka case; particularly as he had "some amount of goodwill'' for the BJP.

Of the view that it was inevitable for "people at the bottom'' to "develop a sense that their country had had a bad time in the past and try to deal with it'' at a certain stage of the nation's self-awareness, Sir Vidia said the intellectual community of the country ought to have engaged such forces in a dialogue.

Narrating his interactions with the BJP youth members — who had met him twice over the past year — the writer said: "They were full of passion, but did not have any programme.''