Describing Ambassador David C Mulford's comments on the Indian vote over Iran at next week's IAEA meeting as 'outrageous', former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday accused the US diplomat of denigrating his host country with his remarks.
Ahead of the IAEA meeting on the Iran issue, Mulford said in an interview on Wednesday that if India did not vote against Tehran's nuclear programme, the fallout on the Indo-US nuclear deal in the US Congress would be 'devastating'.
"The statement of the US Ambassador to India is outrageous. It violates all diplomatic norms. Ambassadors are not required to make personal remarks denigrating their host country," said Vajpayee.
He also accused the UPA of issuing an inadequate reaction to Mulford's comments.
"The reaction of the Ministry of External Affairs to the Ambassador's remarks is routine. It hardly expresses the indignation of the people of the sovereign and independent Republic of India," the former Prime Minister said.
In its reaction to the Ambassador's comments, the External Affairs Ministry said that the Indian stance at the IAEA meeting next month would be based on "independent judgement" and "national interests".