The Hindu News Update Service
News Update Service
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 : 1930 Hrs
"How can I believe that you are Manmohan Singh?"
Bangalore (PTI) Noted paralympic athlete Malathi Holla said Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh initially doubted her certificates when she sought excise duty
exemption to buy a car in 1994 but granted it immediately after she convinced
him about the authenticity of her documents.
Mr. Singh, who was then the Finance Minister, first asked her "How can I
believe that these are yours?" when she displayed her 150 certificates, Holla,
winner of the Arjuna and Padma Shri awards, said in her authorised biography
released here on Wednesday.
An infuriated Malathi, now 51, shot back. "How can I believe, Sir, that you are
Manmohan Singh?
"He (Singh) was taken aback. 'What do you mean?' Mr. Singh demanded," according
to the biography.
"Sir, just to cheat you, I needn't have travelled over 46 hours with all my
problems. I could have sent you the certificates by post, isn't it? These are
all my original certificates. If you wanted to, you could have verified with
the Sports Department at Shastri Bhavan. I said all this very politely, but
I was extremely hurt," she said.
Mr. Singh had then apologised at once and asked when she was going back and she
would have all the exemption before she reached Bangalore.
"When I reached Bangalore, the relevant letter was indeed on my table!" the
biography said.
Malathi said in her biography when she went to Delhi she wasn't very
well-known.
The wheelchair-bound Malathi said she was happy -- not because she got that
exemption but that all her hard work had borne fruit.
"Now every differently-abled person who buys a car gets the exemption. This
incident gave me confidence and boosted my morale. If your approach is just
and transparent you can win the world, no matter who you are dealing with."
Malathi has 300 medals in her kitty and has represented the country in
paralympics, Asian Games, World Masters, Commonwealth Games and Open
Championships.
The biography is authored by Anantha Krishnan M, the Head of Corporate
Communications, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
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