The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Tuesday said George Fernandes by hiding the strip-search that he underwent at Washington's Dulles International Airport while on an official visit had hurt the nation's self-respect.
"George Fernandes is a decent and sober leader. He also proved to be a good defence minister. But what he hid and what made headlines through (Strobe) Talbott's book has hurt our national self-respect," said an editorial in the latest issue of RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya.
"When Fernandes went to the US, he was not a common, helpless resident of Bangalore or Delhi but the defence minister of that India for which crores of countrymen swear to die," it said.
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The editorial said it was his duty and that of the then government to protect the country's honour and recalled that India prided itself of going ahead with the nuclear tests despite US sanctions and ignoring even then President Bill Clinton's invitation at the peak of Kargil conflict.
"Why the Indian ambassador, who could not make an honourable arrangement for the defence minister, was not called back? Why a demand was not put to punish those guilty of not respecting the defence minister of a sovereign nation?" it asked.