Atal's response to Speaker's letter unfortunate

New Delhi, Aug 8: In a sharp reaction to Atal Bihari Vajpayee's response to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee letter, the Government today said it was shocked by the ''highly objectionable'' language used by the former Prime Minister.

Addressing a news conference, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, however, said the language used in the letter did not seem to be that of Mr Vajpayee who used to be very polite in his assertion. But the text of the letter against the highest dignitary, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, had really shocked them, he added.

Mr Dasmunsi specifically referred to the third para of Mr Vajpayee's letter in which he said, ''...Confidence in one's fairness and objectivity has to be commanded; it cannot be demanded.'' His allegations against the Speaker were totally ''baseless and concocted'', the Information and Broadcasting Minister said.

Besides, he said, Mr Vajpayee did not wait for the Speaker's response and made his letter public. At least it was not expected of him and, therefore, forced the Government to respond to it, Mr Dasmunsi said.

Describing the day-long boycott of the Lok Sabha by the NDA as a ''very sad day'' in the history of Parliamentary democracy, he said the Congress had been in opposition in 1977 and 1991 during the NDA regime and there had been occasions when it was not happy with the ruling of the Speaker but it never showed any disrespect to the Chair and maintained its dignity.

Mr Chatterjee, he said, had been running the House very efficiently and it was evident from the number of adjournment motions and issues he had allowed the Opposition to raise. And on several occasions he pulled up ministers, he added.

UNI