PMO replies to Washington Post, slams journalist

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New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has replied to The Washington Post journalist Simon Denyer claiming that the newspaper never contacted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his version on the article slamming him.

"Despite all lines of conversations open, you never got in touch with us for our side of the story though you regularly talk to me about information from the PMO. This story thus becomes totally one sided," the PMO said in the letter.

The article in The Washington Post tagged Manmohan Singh as a "tragic figure'. While the US newspaper refused to apologise, the PMO has claimed that the reporter said sorry twice.

"When I rang you up to point this out, you said sorry twice though you tell the media here that you never apologised," Communications Adviser to the PMO Pankaj Pachauri said in the letter.

The PMO letter said that the journalist 'rehashed and used' an old quote from a magazine. "The former Media Adviser to the PM Dr Sanjaya Baru has complained that you 'rehashed and used' an 8 month old quote from an Indian Magazine," the letter says.

Criticising the journalist, the PMO has said that his conduct was unethical and unprofessional.

The Congress attacked the American newspaper, slamming the article that says, "The image of the scrupulously honorable, humble and intellectual technocrat has slowly given way to a completely different one: a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government."

"India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh helped set his country on the path to modernity, prosperity and power, but critics say the shy, soft-spoken 79-year-old is in danger of going down in history as a failure," the article said.

Following is the full text of the letter from the Prime Minister's office:

Dear Simon,

We do not complain about criticism of the government which is a journalist's right. But I am writing this letter for pointing out unethical and unprofessional conduct at your part.

I would like to put on record my complaint about your article which was published today on many counts:

? Despite all lines of conversations open, you never got in touch with us for our side of the story though you regularly talk to me about information from the PMO. This story thus becomes totally one sided.

? You have been telling the media here in India that your request for an interview was declined though the mail below says clearly that the interview was declined "till the Monsoon Session" of the Parliament which gets over in two days.

? When I rang you up to point this out, you said sorry twice though you tell the media here that you never apologised.

? Your website where we could have posted a reply is still not working, 11 hours after you said sorry the third time for its inaccessibility.

? The former Media Adviser to the PM Dr Sanjaya Baru has complained that you "rehashed and used" an 8 month old quote from an Indian Magazine.

We expected better from the correspondent of the Washington Post for fair and unbiased reporting.

Without going into your one sided assessment of the Prime Minister's performance, as comment is free in journalism, I hope you will carry this communication in full in your paper and your website so your readers can judge for themselves what is the truth.

Sincerely

Pankaj Pachauri

Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister's Office

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pmo-replies-to-washington-post-slams-journalist/288937-3.html

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