The Hindu : Vajpayee hosts 'informal lunch'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 17, 2002

National

National

Vajpayee hosts 'informal lunch'

By Harish Khare

New Delhi Nov. 16. This was not a press conference. Not exactly. The invitation — orally conveyed — was only for an "informal lunch'' at the Prime Minister's house.

But then you cannot sequester over a 100 journalists with a Prime Minister without some mediaperson wanting to put a question or two to the man who rules India.

That is precisely what happened today. The food was excellent. Hospitality flawless. Atal Behari Vajpayee played a genial host.

This incidentally was as close as Mr. Vajpayee came to holding a press conference in the capital since becoming the Prime Minister, again, after the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.

Today, Mr. Vajpayee did answer a few questions.

Cryptically, though. Leaving the mediapersons to construct answers out of his one liners; and, deconstruct his half-liners. Being the veteran manipulator of words, pauses, puns and unfinished sentences, he was in control.

He would not be hustled into answering questions he did not want to respond.

And, sure enough, there were aides to call time out when the polite queries threatened to transform the occasion into a full-fledged press conference.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National