Media misreading PM's statements

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla said here on Sunday she was not happy with the media for giving a twist to her uncle's occasional slips of tongue during his public meetings.

"The media is very harsh towards these occasional slips of tongue which occur due to pressure of work and not because of any other reason," she told reporters.

The electronic media, Karuna said kept up harping on trivial matters while ignoring the real thrust of Vajpayee's speeches.

" A person of Vajpayee's stature should not be judged on such small issues," she said adding he does not go by a written text but speaks spontaneously.

Karuna who was the the BJP candidate for the April 20 Lok Sabha polls in the Janjgir constituency of Chhattisgarh said that the Prime Minister had been addressing upto five public meetings in a day throughout the country in scorching heat.

She dismissed all speculation about the condition of the Prime Minister and said he was in the best of health.

Karuna also said that despite his busy schedule, Vajpayee always found time for family get together and whenever any member approached him with some problem, he was always there to help.