Why George bit the bullet

His extreme statements have given NDA Convener George Fernandes the reputation of a man who shoots from the hips. But even with a record like that, his remarks against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week plumbed the depths of impropriety in Indian politics. Without so much as a flinch, the former defence minister said that had it been China, the debate over the nuclear deal would have been 8220;settled with a bullet in his PM8217;s head8221;. But there is more to this seemingly political outburst. Well, the bullet comment appears to be the culmination of a belligerence that Fernandes had expressed in a series of letters to the Prime Minister. Could his anger and frustration have originated in the arrest of one of his close friends for duty evasion in Andhra Pradesh? The detained person is among Fernandes8217;s key advisers, and the NDA Convener left no stone unturned to help him. But his efforts were in vain, with neither Manmohan nor anyone in the Congress willing to assist him. That could have been very frustrating indeed8212;perhaps enough for Fernandes to have thrown caution and decorum to the winds.