NewsMax Wires
Thursday, June 20, 2002

The article by New Delhi correspondent Alex Perry for Time Asia's edition said Vajpayee, a bachelor, "seems shaky and lost, less an aging sage than an ordinary old man."

Perry's article was titled "Asleep at the Wheel." It said, the prime minister "drank heavily in his prime and still enjoys a nightly whiskey or two at 74. India's leader takes painkillers for his knees [which were replaced due to arthritis] and has trouble with his bladder, liver and his one remaining kidney."

Vajpayee "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 said.

"Atal Behari Vajpayee, then, would be an unusual candidate to control a nuclear arsenal."

"He forgets names, even of longtime colleague and current Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, and during several recent meetings he appeared confused and inattentive," Perry wrote in the article.

The Prime Minister's office blasted Time magazine in a statement, saying its article was in "bad taste."

"Mr. Vajpayee has been in command for more than four years and his ability to control the country's nuclear capability has never been questioned," Prime Minister's office spokesman Ashok Tandon wrote in the letter, which was published by Time in its latest issue.

"His bladder and liver are perfectly normal and he has an average cholesterol level," the letter said. "He does not take alcoholic drinks."

The Indian Express Thursday reported that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office had summoned Perry to explain why he held three British passports.

Journalists Come to Defense

Meanwhile, several leading Indian journalists and editors have also come to Vajpayee's defense, criticizing the Time article.

Chandan Mitra, editor of the New Delhi-based newspaper the Pioneer, called the article "supercilious, patronizing, white-supremacist, flippant and crassly ill-mannered."

Mitra wrote, "If anybody is sick, it is the tribe of scribes that trots out such disgusting pieces of writing in the name of investigative journalism."

Irate workers of Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party burnt Time Asia's issue in Mumbai saying the article was "malicious."

Perry's office in New Delhi has sought time until June 26 because he is away on an assignment for the magazine, the news report said.

Perry, a British national, has three legal passports.

A British High Commission official said British nationals, especially frequent travelers, are entitled to more than one passport if the need arises. Passports are issued when the visas expire, Indian Express reported.

Time magazine management is standing by Perry's article.

"Alex Perry is an outstanding journalist, with 12 years of international news experience," Ty Trippet, New York-based spokesman for the publication was quoted as saying. "We stand by Alex and our story."

Time Asia's issue sold in India like hot cakes.

"More copies have been ordered as we have high demand," Raghubir, a newspaper hawker, said.

Copyright 2002 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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