India expresses disappointment after Swedish paper doesn't drop Bofors reference from President's interview

NEW DELHI: India has objected to certain portions of President Pranab Mukherjee's interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. The Swedish paper reported that the authorities in Delhi sent an official letter to DN, expressing their disappointment.
Days ahead of his state visit to Sweden, President Pranab Mukherjee said the Bofors scandal was a media trial but it had not been proven to be a scandal in a court of law.
READ ALSO: Bofors scandal was a media trial: President Pranab Mukherjee
In an interview to Swedish national daily 'Dagens Nyhetter', Mukherjee was asked if he thought Bofors had been a media trial. The President said, "First of all - it is yet to be to be established that there was a scandal. No Indian court has established it. I was the defence minister of the country long after Bofors, and all my generals certified that this is one of the best guns we are having. Till today, Indian army is using it. The so-called scandal which you talk of, yes, in the media, it was there. There was a media trial. But I'm afraid, let us not be too much carried by publicity."
Asked if the Bofors scam was just a media scandal, he said, "I do not know. I'm not describing it, you're putting that word. Don't put that word. What I am saying is that in media it was publicised. But up to now, no Indian court has given any decisive verdict about the alleged scandal."
READ ALSO: I can certify Bofors guns are good, Manohar Parrikar says
On Tuesday, Dagens Nyheter said it received an official letter from the Indian ambassador in Stockholm, Banashri Bose Harrison, where she expressed ”disappointment” in the interview. According to the paper, she said that DN neglected to show the President the ”courtesy and respect” that he deserved as head of state.
In a telephone conversation with DN prior to the publication of the article, the Indian ambassador made a direct request asking DN to retract sections of the interview mentioning Bofors. She also warned that the planned state visit was at risk of being cancelled, the Swedish paper said.
Then paper, however, refused to edit out that portion. DN's editor-in-chief said Peter Wolodarski said, ”I find the ambassador’s reaction regretful. It is surprising that someone representing the world's largest democracies is trying to micromanage which questions we should ask a head of state, and which answers should be published.
The Bofors scandal was a $285 million contract between the Indian government and Swedish arms company Bofors, signed for supply of 155mm howitzer field guns in 1986. Subsequently, Swedish Radio alleged that Bofors paid illegal commissions to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to seal the deal. The scandal contributed to the defeat of Rajiv Gandhi in elections three years later.