Articles in Murdoch newspapers slanderous, malicious: Govt

New Delhi, Apr 27: The Indian government has reacted sharply to an article that appeared in the Rupert Murdoch owned The Australian for a report headlined, 'Modi leads India into viral apocalypse.'

India termed the report as baseless, malicious and slanderous. India said that the article was written with the sole intention of undermining the universally acclaimed approach taken by the government of India at this decisive moment.

The article originally appeared in the The Times of London, also a Murdoch owned newspaper and was reproduced in The Australian. The letter sent by the high commission of India in Canberra accused the newspaper of not bothering to check the facts of the case, with any of the authorities in the government.

The letter said, "while our scientific community is still looking at possible reasons for the sudden surge in infections, including the role of infectious new strains that came from outside India, the article has strangely rushed to blame the surge on the restricted election campaign by the Hon'ble Prime Minister and one religious gathering."

The Times-Australian article said that warnings of the public health experts had fallen on deaf ears as Modi and his acolytes preached a message of triumphalism and exceptionalism. India had defeated the virus, Modi told the World Economic Forum. Last month India's health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan had assured the country that India was in the endgame of the pandemic. He had also lauded Modi as a vaccine guru and an example to the world.

The article said, even as death and despair stalked the nation, Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party rejected lockdown and forged ahead with mass gatherings. The election rallies and Kumbh Mela festival turned out to be super-spreader events as public health experts had warned, it further read.