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WASHINGTON: The flub, in the eyes of Indian officialdom, was minor; but the feedback was ferocious.
India's external affairs minister SM Krishna, frequently under attack for not being up to speed in 21st century engagements, gave some more ammunition to his critics by inadvertently reading out the speech of the Portuguese foreign minister at a UN meeting on Friday. He cottoned on to the mistakes a couple of minutes into his delivery, but the faux pas rippled through the electronic world for hours, inviting both sarcasm and merriment.
"Maybe Portugal has outsourced its speech to Bangalore," read one message on social networking site. "Look at the bright side. We can now lay claim to Cristiano Ronaldo," tweeted another, referring to the classy Portuguese footballer. A third wondered if SM Krishna should meet the same fate as his Pakistani counterpart SM Qureshi, who was sidelined in a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. "A mistake? Why do we have a mistake like him in the government," riffed another.
Krishna's aides said the reactions were harsh because the flub was inadvertent and "could have happened to anyone." They also maintained the minister caught on to the error within a few lines of the speech consisting mainly of opening pleasantries, and he did not read on for five minutes as reported in some sections of the media. "You guys must be having a slow news day on Saturday to make such a big deal out of this," one aide said snarkily.
But those who heard the speech said Krishna was well past the pleasantries and generalities when he was stopped by Hardeep Puri, India's Permanent Representative to the UN One of the lines Krishna read was, "On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Brazil and Portugal, together here today."
One reason the flub went undetected for some time, according to sources, was that the Portuguese foreign minister had already finished speaking and the English translation of his speech which was distributed got mixed up with Krishna's papers. While there was no immediate assignation of blame among officials, critics contended it was an embarrassment at a time India is pitching for a permanent UNSC seat.
It's not the first time a major public figure has read the wrong speech. The last prominent victim of such a gaffe? US President Barack Obama, who began reading the speech of the Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in 2009 after the teleprompter mixed up their speeches. Obama realized the blunder when he started to thank himself.
But the Indian e-world was unsparing even though the faux pas wasn't even a minor blip at the UN, where the G-4 push for an expanded UNSC made headlines. "Next time he should write his speech in Kannada," one tweeter advised Krishna, who studied in Dallas and Washington DC. "Why couldn't he at least find the speech of the Italian foreign minister," joked another.
While Krishna, who is 78, has been pilloried by critics for what they say is his stodginess, his aides point out that he keeps a blistering pace unmatched by any of his predecessors for a man of his age a common argument from supporters of a geriatric political leadership in youthful India. Many of India's Union Cabinet principals, including the Prime Minister and the finance minister, are in their late 70s
SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India
India's external affairs minister SM Krishna, frequently under attack for not being up to speed in 21st century engagements, gave some more ammunition to his critics by inadvertently reading out the speech of the Portuguese foreign minister at a UN meeting on Friday. He cottoned on to the mistakes a couple of minutes into his delivery, but the faux pas rippled through the electronic world for hours, inviting both sarcasm and merriment.
"Maybe Portugal has outsourced its speech to Bangalore," read one message on social networking site. "Look at the bright side. We can now lay claim to Cristiano Ronaldo," tweeted another, referring to the classy Portuguese footballer. A third wondered if SM Krishna should meet the same fate as his Pakistani counterpart SM Qureshi, who was sidelined in a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. "A mistake? Why do we have a mistake like him in the government," riffed another.
Krishna's aides said the reactions were harsh because the flub was inadvertent and "could have happened to anyone." They also maintained the minister caught on to the error within a few lines of the speech consisting mainly of opening pleasantries, and he did not read on for five minutes as reported in some sections of the media. "You guys must be having a slow news day on Saturday to make such a big deal out of this," one aide said snarkily.
But those who heard the speech said Krishna was well past the pleasantries and generalities when he was stopped by Hardeep Puri, India's Permanent Representative to the UN One of the lines Krishna read was, "On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Brazil and Portugal, together here today."
One reason the flub went undetected for some time, according to sources, was that the Portuguese foreign minister had already finished speaking and the English translation of his speech which was distributed got mixed up with Krishna's papers. While there was no immediate assignation of blame among officials, critics contended it was an embarrassment at a time India is pitching for a permanent UNSC seat.
It's not the first time a major public figure has read the wrong speech. The last prominent victim of such a gaffe? US President Barack Obama, who began reading the speech of the Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in 2009 after the teleprompter mixed up their speeches. Obama realized the blunder when he started to thank himself.
But the Indian e-world was unsparing even though the faux pas wasn't even a minor blip at the UN, where the G-4 push for an expanded UNSC made headlines. "Next time he should write his speech in Kannada," one tweeter advised Krishna, who studied in Dallas and Washington DC. "Why couldn't he at least find the speech of the Italian foreign minister," joked another.
While Krishna, who is 78, has been pilloried by critics for what they say is his stodginess, his aides point out that he keeps a blistering pace unmatched by any of his predecessors for a man of his age a common argument from supporters of a geriatric political leadership in youthful India. Many of India's Union Cabinet principals, including the Prime Minister and the finance minister, are in their late 70s
SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India
