Sir — The Pioneer had published two reports from Washington, quoting President Barack Obama on religious tolerance in India which contradicted each other. The first report “Obama remark ‘misconstrued’, no ‘parting shot’ at BJP: White House” (February 5), quotes a senior White House official seeking to explain the President’s remarks in his Siri Fort address in New Delhi, that India will succeed ‘so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith’, as a reiteration of “core democratic values and principles” of both India and the US.
However, the second report: “Obama: Religious intolerance in India would have shocked Gandhi” (February 6), left no one in doubt about Mr Obama’s real target and intention. These comments only underlined deep dismay and even an element of shock — of those Indians who may have been inclined to be soft towards the US President’s parting, although unhappy, line. Now, questions are bound to be asked: Is this not hypocrisy, double-talk and double-facedness, least expected from the first Afro-American PresidentIJ