'Foreigner PM' debate rages over e-mail, SMS

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As Congress president Sonia Gandhi was poised to take over as the next prime
minister of India, a debate on her foreign origin was ragged not just in
political circles but also across telephone lines and cyberspace.

http://www.newindpress.com/election/2004/TheDayAfter/News.asp?Topic=304&Titl
e=The+Day+After&ID=IEH20040517120120

Italy has become "the flavor of the season" in New Delhi with text messages
and newspapers Sunday poking fun at the Italian origin of Sonia Gandhi,
tipped to be India's first foreign-born prime minister. Political analyst
B.G. Verghese, a former newspaper editor, said the issue of Gandhi's foreign
birth was like "flogging a dead horse" with the election over. "The media is
playing to the gallery," Verghese said. "It is trivialization of news."
Anand Kumar, an analyst at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, noted the media
focus on Gandhi's roots could fuel the issue. "The media magnifies certain
aspects that become the basis for people to react. The foreigner issue is
overkill," Kumar said.

Source:
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en64965